Cowboys vs Texans: 3 bold predictions for Monday’s matchup

Here are our bold predictions for this week’s matchup.

The Dallas Cowboys are back in action on Monday night as they face off against their in-state rival the Houston Texans. Things can’t get much worse for the Cowboys, so we’ll see if they are able to somehow turn things around this week in primetime.

Before the two teams square off, here are three bold predictions for the game.

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1) Texans’ defense records three or more takeaways for the third time in their last six games

Since Week 6, no team in football has been better about recording takeaways than the Houston Texans. Houston’s defense has registered 15 takeaways over their last five games, including four in a single game against the New England Patriots, and five in last week’s matchup against the Detroit Lions.

Eight players on the Texans’ defense have recorded at least one interception on the season, including four by safety Calen Bullock and three by cornerback Kamari Lassiter. Last week, Houston forced Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff, who came into the game not throwing an interception in five-straight games, into five picks.

If Houston was able to cause this level of chaos against a talented Lions offense, it’s scary to think about what they’ll be able to do against a Cowboys offense that is currently one of the worst individual units in football.

Cooper Rush and Dallas’ offense have another long night as the Texans’ defense continues their turnover tear, recording three takeaways.

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2) Cowboys pull Cooper Rush, leading to Trey Lance scoring two second-half touchdowns

It really makes no logical sense why the Cowboys are continuing to play veteran quarterback Cooper Rush. Last week against the Eagles we all saw just how limited Rush is in his passing ability. His poor pocket awareness and lack of ball security only made matters worse as the veteran had one of the worst quarterback performances in recent memory.

After a disaster of a performance, the Cowboys decided Rush was worthy of another start this week against the Texans. While he will be the quarterback taking Dallas’ first snap of the game, there stands to be a pretty decent chance he won’t be the one who finishes it.

While Trey Lance did throw a late-game interception last week, in his limited playing time he showed he can at least be some sort of threat to a defense with his running ability. Having Lance in the game adds a dynamic Rush cannot provide. Opposing defense having to worry about Lance taking off and running could help Dallas be more effective running the football as a team.

This game isn’t going to go much better than last week’s did for Cooper Rush. After another dreadful first half, Dallas pulls the trigger and makes the switch to Lance for the final two quarters. The young quarterback has more success than Rush, scoring two second-half touchdowns and giving Dallas’ offense some much-needed life.

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3) Cowboys call and convert a first-half fake punt

The last time we saw the Cowboys try a fake punt in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, it ended in disaster. Down just four points on their own side of the field, Dallas dialed up a fake punt pass to C.J. Goodwin that didn’t even come close to being completed

This week in a game where they are clearly going to be overmatched, I see Dallas pulling out the fake punt once again. Instead of throwing the ball to Goodwin, Cowboys’ punter Bryan Anger throws it to rookie wideout Ryan Flournoy on the other side of the field. Flournoy comes down with the catch, giving Dallas a brief bit of positive momentum in what turns out to be another tough night.