The Dallas Cowboys‘ Monday evening began with a piece of their stadium’s roof falling to the turf. It ended with a 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans that included some unwanted history.
The Cowboys have trailed by at least 20 points in each of their past six home games, an NFL record. As you’d expect, Dallas lost each game. That run of futility began with January’s playoff loss to the Packers and continued during Monday night’s defeat to its in-state rival.
Fittingly, the history-making score was courtesy of Texans running back Joe Mixon, who gave Houston a 24-point lead after scoring his third touchdown run of the night with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining. Mixon’s touchdown tally Monday night equaled the amount of touchdown runs Dallas has compiled through 10 games this season.
It’s hard to fathom that, not too long ago, the Cowboys had won 16 straight games inside AT&T Stadium. That seems like a distant memory now, as Dallas’ home stadium has become one of the NFL’s easiest places to win for opposing teams.
Monday night’s game was a microcosm of the Cowboys’ season to this point. The game’s turning point occurred late in the third quarter when the Cowboys’ drive was extended after a penalty was called against Houston on Brandon Aubrey’s 64-yard field goal. Instead of trailing 20-13, the Cowboys accepted the penalty, thus taking three points off the board. Dallas ended up getting no points on the drive after turning the ball over on downs in the red zone.
Another sequence that sums up the Cowboys’ season occurred on their ensuing drive, when Dallas fumbled twice on the same play before Texans defensive end Derek Barnett scooped up the second fumble and raced 28 yards to pay dirt.
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 3-7 and one step closer towards playoff elimination. They’re also one step closer to what is likely the end of Mike McCarthy’s run as the head coach in Dallas, a run that included some success but has failed to deliver the franchise’s first NFC Championship Game appearance since January of 1996.