The Dallas Cowboys placed QB Dak Prescott on injured reserve prior to Monday night’s contest against the Houston Texans. The Week 11 move was anticipated for the last several weeks, but the fact it took so long to make was a significant admission. There’s no cavalry coming, so the need for the roster spot wasn’t really a pressing issue for the 3-6 Cowboys.

Make that 3-7, as the club was once again in a street fight without any weapons in falling to the Texans 34-10. The club’s fifth straight defeat came with the required number of head scratches and face palms pretty much from the onset of the game. Dallas gave up big plays, turned the ball over and had a myriad of new injuries to keep piling on the miserable season.

Dallas saw three different starting offensive linemen leave the contest with injuries, along with their starting tight end. Jake Ferguson suffered a concussion early on, and then the second half saw Tyler Guyton, Zack Martin and Tyler Smith all get knocked out; the latter two within three plays of each other.

With Cooper Rush continuing to struggle to push the ball downfield on a regular basis, the Dallas defense was once again asked to do something they were incapable of doing. The Houston offense scored on a 77-yard opening play that was called back, but were undaunted with numerous big plays.

CJ Stroud released the ball quickly, often finding his returning star WR Nico Collins, on the way to 257 passing yards. He didn’t throw for a score, but it wasn’t necessary with RB Joe Mixon adding three touchdowns on 109 rushing yards.

In comparison Rush threw for over 300 yards, but Mike McCarhty’s non-existent commitment to the running game saw Dallas rush just 16 times compared to over 50 passing attempts.

The Cowoys offense remains disfunctional as the team lost their sixth straight home game