Cowboys Top Texans In OT
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Dan Bailey made up for a rare miss at the end of regulation, nailing a 49-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Dallas Cowboys past the Houston Texans 20-17 Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys (4-1) were able to withstand three turnovers, a split crowd in their home stadium and Houston’s fourth-quarter rally to win their fourth game in a row since a season-opening loss to San Francisco.
“Today what was really positive was that it wasn’t perfect by any means,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “There were some things that we didn’t do as well as we needed to do as a football team, but the guys kept fighting, guys kept battling.
“We got the right kind of guys on our team who compete. When things don’t go well, they have the right demeanor.”
Quarterback Tony Romo, who said Dallas used a silent count in the second half because of Houston’s noisy fans, passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns, and his long pass to receiver Dez Bryant in overtime set up Bailey’s game winner. Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray added his NFL rushing lead with 136 yards on the ground.
“I was a little bit surprised by the number of Houston fans,” said Romo.
Dallas’ winning streak will be on the line next Sunday at defending Super Bowl champion Seattle. The Cowboys are
2-0 on the road this season. The Texans (3-2) return to Houston to face Indianapolis on Thursday night.
The Cowboys squandered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter when noise became an issue. If not for a stop on Houston’s first possession of overtime and a 37-yard pass to Bryant on the ensuing drive, Dallas could have lost a game it had firmly in hand.
“I knew he was in a one-on-one situation,” Romo said of Bryant. “I just tried to make sure he was able to come down with the ball and he made a great play on it.”
Houston cornerback Johnathan Joseph was draped all over Bryant on the third-and-8 heave down the sideline.
“It’s just one of those plays, it’s a 50-50 play, and he came down with it,” Joseph said. “He double caught it coming down, and it kind of fell into his hands. I had my hand in the exact place you want it for a defensive back.”
The Texans mustered only 330 yards of offense and 15 first downs. Houston running back Arian Foster did run for a season-high 157 yards and two scores, but quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was only 16-of-25 for 154 yards and an interception.
“I’m not playing well enough to win,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick said the Texans must be more consistent and he needs to be better behind center.
“Our defense did a good job, but we didn’t do enough offensively,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said. “We have to fix the things we can fix. These games come down to five, six, seven plays. We have to get better fast.”
After a dismal first half, the Texans built some momentum and a 7-3 lead in the third quarter behind Foster. The sixth-year back carried the ball five times for 59 yards on a six-play drive covering 71 yards. Foster took it the final 15 yards for the touchdown.
Dallas responded with two Romo touchdown passes to go up 17-7 in the fourth quarter.
The first scoring march went 78 yards and was highlighted by two long passes. Romo connected with tight end Jason Witten on a 34-yard throw before spinning out of a sack by defensive end J.J. Watt to find receiver Terrance Williams on a 43-yard score.
A long punt return and a steady dose of Murray helped set up the second touchdown. Romo hooked up with Bryant on a 2-yard strike giving the Cowboys 10 points worth of breathing room with 9:44 left in the game.
Houston pulled within a touchdown at 17-10, but the seven-plus minute drive that resulted in just a field goal left just 2:27 on the clock. That ended up being more than enough time.
The Texans got the ball back with 1:59 on the clock at the Dallas 45-yard line after a punt. Two plays later Houston was at the Cowboys’ 5. The Texans needed only two Foster carries and the game was tied 17-17 with 41 seconds remaining.
Dallas moved the ball to the 35, setting up Bailey’s 53-yard try to win. The kick sailed left, ending Bailey’s streak of consecutive field goals at 30 and sending the game into OT.
Scoring chances were few and far between in the first half, as both sides struggled to move and hold on to the ball. The Cowboys did get into the red zone twice, but had only a field goal to show for it.
Bailey’s 33-yarder at the end of the first half was the difference in a 3-0 game. The teams combined for only 251 yards and three turnovers in the first 30 minutes.
Dallas appeared poised to turn the first possession change into points.
An obvious miscommunication between Fitzpatrick and Foster led to an interception — Fitzpatrick said after the game it was “100 percent” his own fault — by Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick on Houston’s second series.
The Cowboys were driving for the game’s first score when Murray coughed up the ball just outside of the Houston 10-yard line after a hit by safety Kendrick Lewis. Murray, who had 31 carries, has now lost a fumble in four of the season’s five games.
The Texans got the ball back via another Dallas fumble — this one by punt returned Dwayne Harris in the second quarter. Despite starting on the Cowboys’ 43, Houston didn’t go anywhere and punted the ball back.
Romo then took the Cowboys 65 yards to set up Bailey’s kick for the only points of the half.
