By admin 
HOUSTON – Only the week before in Rio, in a last-second loss so stunning it got the head coach a call-out from the owner on his radio show, the Dallas Cowboys left the Baltimore Ravens seven seconds to do as they would.
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On Sunday at Reliant Stadium, they left the Houston Texans 40 seconds, practically a lifetime in comparison.
What could go wrong, right?
Oh, say, a Hail Mary from C.J. Stroud that somehow passed through Malik Hooker’s mitts in the end zone, then trickled through a host of players to the turf, thus preserving a 34-30 come-from-behind win before 77,217, a fair portion of whom appeared to be patrons of the visitors.
Dak Prescott said they appreciated the lift they got from fans in silver and blue. The Texans’ 13 penalties helped, too. Probably goes without saying there’s a reason the hosts are now 0-4.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 2-2, same as the Philadelphia Eagles, both a game back of the New York Giants in the East. A loss to the Texans wouldn’t necessarily have ended their playoff aspirations, but it seems safe to say they would have taken a serious dent.
What we’ve learned about the Cowboys a quarter of the way through the schedule is that, win or lose, they seem bent on doing things the hard way, the head coach in particular.
Brian Schottenheimer’s decision-making process and communication skills came into question last week by the media as well as Jerry Jones after the botched ending in Rio, where his quarterback somehow got the idea that it was better to go for the tie than the win. Time management in the waning minutes was a point of discussion, too.
Frankly, as a chaotic game Sunday wound to its wild finish, it was almost impossible not to feel a sense of deja vu, and not just because there was only a point’s difference between the final scores.
“Obviously, yeah,” Dak said. “The nerves are there.”
Obviously.
The similarity wasn’t nearly as apparent to his head coach.
“Rio doesn’t define us as a football team, as a coaching staff,” Schottenheimer said. “I think I’m very upfront and honest about that.
“Rio had nothing to do with this game. This game stood by itself.”
In the win column, yes.
But as a vote of confidence in the head coach?
Not so much.
Consider the final minute of the first half: Down a touchdown, he elected to try a 65-yard field goal even after the Texans had already foiled a 62-yard attempt by Brandon Aubrey, the second blocked kick Schottenheimer’s special teams had given up in successive weeks.
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The better part of valor suggested punting with 30 seconds left in the half, thus pinning the Texans deep in their own territory and preserving a one-score deficit. Instead, the Cowboys gave the Texans excellent field position and time to kick a field goal to put them up by 10 at the half.
Schottenheimer didn’t even flinch when I brought it up.
“We have our yard lines that we are aiming to get to,” he said, referencing Aubrey’s range, “and we were over it by a yard or two. And, like I said, we felt very comfortable that Brandon would make that kick.
“And, to that point in the game, you know, I have no question that if for some reason he missed it, that we had plenty of time to fight back. But you’re always going to trust your players in those situations.”
Of course, trusting your players is a good thing, especially if said player is Aubrey. But there’s also such a thing as putting your players in a position to succeed and avoiding unnecessary risks. A coach’s job is to determine the difference between the possible and the practical.
As it turned out, the Cowboys had time to come back because Christian Parker’s defense finally made a few stops after a full afternoon of DaRon Bland chasing Nico Collins all around the field. He probably chased him home. They also came in just under the wire because the Greatest Offense There Is – Dak’s description, not mine – did its thing in the second half. CeeDee Lamb, who caught 17 passes for 189 yards, and George Pickens, who is great even when he just catches two for 75, were too much even for the Texans’ talented defense.
But the Cowboys also were lucky that a couple of Dak’s tipped throws somehow ended up in his teammates’ hands and not the opponents’. The Texans’ 13 penalties for 90 yards were also a gift that kept them from running away with the game early.
You can’t always trust your players to do the right thing. Not these Cowboys. Not when the Texans’ go-ahead touchdown with 2:23 left came after they faced a third-and-19 that became a third-and-14 because of an offsides, then a first down because of a hook-and-lateral.
A hook-and-lateral.
Bad things happen to these Cowboys, is the lesson learned, so it’s up to the head coach to keep them from hurting themselves. Unfortunately, the head coach is occasionally the problem. They got away with it Sunday. Somewhere down the line, they may not be as fortunate.
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This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 7:54 PM.