Winners and Losers from Cowboys big win over Texans

The Cowboys came away with a dramatic 34-30 come-from-behind victory over a desperate Houston Texans team giving Dallas a reason to be optimistic moving forward.

Not every performance was created equal though as several players stepped up when their opportunities arrived while others struggled to make the kind of impact that is expected from them.

Just missing the cut, Tyler Guyton has grown into a legitimate left tackle and is no longer a problem for Dallas while safety Caleb Downs continues to be a bright spot on defense. On the other hand, tight end Jake Ferguson's run blocking effort continues to garner collective eye rolls and sighs.

As is often the case following a hard-fought game, the final result may have been positive, but individual stock certainly moved in different directions. Here are the biggest winners and losers from a game that could prove pivotal as Dallas continues to shape their season.

Breaking the Cowboys All-Time single game reception record for a wide receiver while catching the go-ahead game winning touchdown is a signature moment in what has been an outstanding start to the season for wideout CeeDee Lamb.

Only Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, with 18 receptions back in 2012, has ever caught more passes in a game for the Cowboys but that still doesn't damper the performance Lamb displayed against what was the best defense in the NFL last season.

SuperLamb finished with 189 receiving yards to go along with the aforementioned TD to essentially save the Cowboys from dwelling in the NFC East basement. The seventh-year wide receiver was unguardable against the Texans whose vaunted defense had no answers.

He now has 37 receptions for 498 receiving yards on the year which are both tops in the NFL, to go along with four touchdowns marking the best start to his career after four games.

Lamb is on pace for 157 receptions which would break Michael Thomas' record when he caught 149 passes for the Saints back in 2019. Lamb is also on pace for 2,116 receiving yards which would shatter Calvin Johnson's record of 1,964 yards set back during the 2012 season for Detroit.

No player has ever recorded 2,000 receiving yards in NFL history and Lamb would need to average 115.5 yards a game for the rest of the season to reach that mark but L2K does have a nice ring to it.

Loser - Nick Sorenesen - Special Teams Coordinator

While the Cowboys defense has eaten up much of the headlines for their porous start to the season, the Dallas special teams units have continued their downward trend which may have hit a point where a conversation might have to be had about special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen.

Replaced after one season as the 49ers defensive coordinator, Sorensen latched on with Dallas last season taking over for the insightful and innovative John "Bones" Fassel, and things in Dallas have stagnated.

Dallas had a Brandon Aubrey FG attempt blocked after the Texans detected an issue with the Cowboys blocking scheme by overloading one side.

The Cowboys have now had kicks blocked in back-to-back games for the first time since 1991 and almost had another blocked by Texans edge Will Anderson which could have altered Houstons approach towards the end of the game.

Dallas gave up 161 kick return yards on seven attempts against Houston. Last season, the Dallas kickoff unit gave up 2,097 yards — second most in the NFL only to the Jets. That number is more than Fassel's units gave up in his final three seasons in Dallas combined (2,010).

With 422 yards allowed through four games, Dallas is doing better than last season but is still on pace to give up 1,793 kick return yards.

If things continue to falter, an in-season coaching change must be considered as giving short fields to offenses hurts the defenses chances of improving as the season continues to unfold.

The overall statistics may not stand out on paper but the impact running back Javonte Williams had en route to a hat-trick was only visible to those who watched the game.

Williams finished the game with 19 carries for 62 yards, good for an average of 3.2 yards per rush, yet his three touchdown scores were key in the Cowboys keeping pace in the division and also perhaps the conference.

Williams now has 16 rushing touchdowns since signing with Dallas prior to the 2025 season and marks the third time he has scored multiple rushing TD's since joining the team. His three scores are the most he's ever had in a game in his NFL career.

His ability to pick up blitzes or help chip defenders allowed QB Dak Prescott to stand in the pocket and ease the harassment usually bestowed by the Texans defense. According to PFF, Williams has allowed just one QB hit on 42 pass blocking attempts this season with no sacks or hurries allowed.

The Cowboys defense showed signs of improvement including two, three-&-out's while holding Houston to 3-of-10 on third down but issues remain — namely, cover corners DaRon Bland and Reddy Steward.

Bland was given a four-year, $92 million contract extension to be the teams top cornerback and the deal appears to be an overpay or perhaps compensation for services already rendered. Either way, Bland is not living up to his contract status and his future with the team will come in to question until his performances improve.

According to PFF, Bland allowed five receptions on seven targets for 104 yards. Houston shied away from the newly acquired Joey Porter Jr. and opted to pick on the teams highest paid defensive back instead. Yuck.

Steward was also picked on allowing three receptions for 48 yards according to PFF. The miscommunication between him and Bland on the first play of the game allowed Texans WR Nico Collins to run open for a 45-yard reception.

Collins would cap the opening drive beating Bland for a seven-yard TD reception — Houstons' first opening drive points of the season.

Luckily for Dallas, reinforcements should steadily return as a rash of injuries have forced Dallas to give snaps to players who did not make the initial 53-man roster which is affecting the cohesion and familiarity of a new defensive system.

Quarterback Dak Prescott didn't have the best starts to the game against a stingy Houston defense but showed all the reasons why keeping the game close late in games gives the Cowboys a punchers chance.

He now has 27 game-winning drives and the victory tied him with Hall-of-Fame quarterback Roger Staubach for second place All-Time for most regular-season wins by a Cowboys quarterback with 85 victories.

Prescott finished going 32 of 45 for 335 yards and a game winning touchdown pass to Lamb.

Prescott ranks sixth in passing yards with 1,065 and eight TD passes, third in completions with 105, and is tied with San Francisco for second place averaging 30.5 points per game.

His lone interception came on an attempted throw away pass against the Giants in Week 1.

While the ultimate goal is for Dallas to win a championship, individually, Prescott should be in the MVP conversation as long as the teams record can coincide with his current performance.

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer started the week apologizing to his players and taking the blame for his decision-making at the end of the Ravens contest that cost the team a win but his issues remain despite his players bailing him out of another question filled contest.

Towards the end of the first half, Schotty opted to attempt a 65-yard field goal instead of punting and pinning the Texans back with seconds left until halftime. Kicker Brandon Aubrey missed the field goal giving Houston great field position which resulted in the Texans putting up three points and ended the half up 16-6.

His insistence on not running ball while close to the goal line, attempting to block edge players with TE Jake Ferguson, and a questionable organizational challenge process officially marks the end of the honeymoon phase in Dallas.

The first time, second-year head coach must be the catalyst for his team winning as opposed a roadblock for their losses. Continued success often masks glaring issues but Schotty must be better moving forward.

Luckily for him, Dallas has a short week against a wounded opponent at home that could vault them to the top of the division standings all while looking ahead at a schedule that could see them never relinquish the lead.

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