Murphy’s Law: Lessons learned in Cowboys’ 34-10 Week 11 loss to Texans

The Cowboys have turned to backup quarterback Cooper Rush over the last few years to help them keep their heads above water, and the veteran has played fairly well. With Rush, the key has been to run the ball and stay in down and distances where he doesn’t need to do too much. That’s the game plan to keep the offense on track with Rush under center, and it’s worked when the script is followed.

Against the Texans, the game plan was putrid. Despite the contest being close until the fourth quarter, McCarthy pass-heavy approach did his team in. Starting running back Rico Dowdle had only nine rushes heading into the last 15 minutes, while Rush totaled with 55 pass attempts. Despite some ineffectiveness in the running game early, Dowdle never got a chance to find a rhythm, which was a curious strategy after saying all week how the veteran RB had earned a bigger role.

With McCarthy deciding to throw it so much, it aided the Texans’ pass rush, who sacked Rush five times. Even if the game plan was to throw more, that idea should’ve gone out the window with the poor throws from Rush, who was only intercepted once, but could’ve been picked off five more times.

Rush did throw for a career-high 354 yards, but McCarthy’s game plan wasn’t smart, nor was it effective, and it caught up with the team in the end. Kind of like McCarthy’s tenure as coach of the Cowboys.

Fas have seen Martin play poorly more times this season than during the rest of his career combined, and he was embarrassed late in the game. Martin might be trying to fight through some injuries, but it’s clear he’s shot.

Martin gave up one of the worst sacks of his career in the fourth quarter when he was beaten by defensive tackle Tim Settle. It was third sack this season where Martin hasn’t looked anything like the dominant right guard he’s been known as in his 11 years in the league.

A few plays later, Martin went down with an injury and didn’t return. It was clear on Martin’s face how disappointed he was, either by his play or the injuries that are affecting him. Either way, Martin’s time as one of the league’s best players appears to be over. If it wasn’t clear before Monday Night Football, it was obvious in the Week 11 loss.

One of the biggest missing pieces to the Cowboys’ offense is speed, and the diminutive kick returner, who is sometimes disguised as a wide receiver, needs to be utilized more. Turpin’s acceleration and quickness was on display during his 64-yard yard touchdown catch, where he hit a speed of over 22 mph, a high for the NFL this season.

The sudden movement to fake outside before going inside was a beautiful route from Turpin, who then had no problem eating up the space between defenders and going for the score. The Cowboys need more of that type of explosiveness in their offense, and no one has that speed on the team except for Turpin.

He doesn’t need to be used as a deep ball threat, but the Cowboys have to find ways to get Turpin open in space so he can use his speed and elusiveness to make big plays.

For the Cowboys, this season can be summed up in two ways in the loss to the Texans.

The first microcosm of how Dallas’ year has gone was in the third quarter. With the team down 10 points, McCarthy sent out his best player, kicker Brandon Aubrey, who missed a short field goal on the possession earlier after slipping on a field goal attempt. That didn’t dissuade McCarthy from using Aubrey to try a 64-yard kick, which Aubrey nailed to make the score 20-13. The Cowboys would’ve been down just one score.

However, a penalty by the Texans gave the Cowboys a chance to put more than just three points on the board, and the offense drove into the red zone. But on fourth-and-2, the designed sprint out for Rush failed as the pass fell incomplete and Dallas turned the ball over on downs, still trailing by two scores, and not just the seven points they wouldv’e been down by if there was no penalty.

On the next series, Rush was strip sacked. Left tackle Tyler Guyton recovered and tried to run with the ball instead of going down to retain possession. The result was a second fumble which was returned for a touchdown by the Texans. The Cowboys were then down 27-10, and the game was essentially over.

Only the Cowboys could fumble twice on the same play and give up a score.