The Dallas Cowboys lost their fifth straight game on Monday night, losing 34-10 to the Houston Texans. There was a point where it looked like the boys in blue were going to give them a run for their money, but in true 2024 Cowboys fashion, the roof finally came crashing down. Here are ten thoughts on another unsatisfactory weekly performance from this Cowboys football team.

1. An almost disastrous start

The game couldn’t have started worse when Nico Collins ran 77 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game after a scrimmage. Fortunately for Dallas, Laremy Tunsil drifted and was flagged for an illegal man downfield, negating the score. The Texans still scored a touchdown six plays later, but it was still a bad way to start this primetime game and

2. A big night for Mixon

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Texans running back Joe Mixon would have a big night. He entered the game with the most attempts per game this season, and no one expected that to change with a porous Cowboys defense. He started the game red hot, but then the Cowboy defense started to tighten up. In the end, Mixon still finished with an impressive statistical line as he finished with 20 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He also added another 44 yards as a receiver and finished the game with three total touchdowns. The veteran running back was simply too shrewd for the Cowboys in this one.

3. Why are they so bad at countering punts?

Sometimes losing isn’t enough for the team. They want to embarrass themselves. That’s what it feels like when John Fassel makes one of those janky fake attempts. They tried something similar two weeks ago against Atlanta and looked just as foolish. They’re not fooling anyone. It’s the same foolishness they pulled in 2020. It was foolish then, and it is foolish still. Please stop.

4. Why do offensive linemen try to catch fumbles and run?

It’s one thing to let the edge rusher blow past you, resulting in a sack/fumble, but it’s even worse when you try to pick up that fumble and run with it. But that’s what the Cowboys’ offensive tackles like to do. In an attempt to save face, they try to be a hero and pick up the fumble. That’s what Terence Steele did last week, and that’s what Tyler Guyton did Monday night. And each time it only made things worse as each fumbled play resulted in a turnover.

5. Turpin time!

For a moment it looked like the Cowboys were going to make a game of it. In a shocking turn of events, the offense turned on a third-and-long when Cooper Rush found KaVontae Turpin in pass over the middle and he was off to the races. The 64-yard touchdown made it a 14-7 game early in the second quarter. It was nice to see the Cowboys include Turpin as he has shown he can be a weapon when he gets his hands on the ball. They should try to do that more.

6. Schoony and Ford

Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson left the game early with a concussion. The team was already without backup tight end John Stephens Jr., who is out for the year with a torn ACL. Even with those guys missing, the Cowboys continued to lean on their tight ends with a heavy dose of targets for second-year player Luke Schoonmaker and undrafted free agent rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford. Schoonmaker finished the game with six catches for 56 yards, a career-high, while Spann-Ford had four catches for 42 yards, also a career-high. It was a solid group effort from the Cowboys’ backup tight ends.

7. Aubrey robbed again

Late in the third quarter, Brandon Aubrey scored a 64-yard field goal to cut the Texans’ lead to 20–13, but a head-lap penalty committed by defensive linemen Derek Barnett gave the Cowboys another set of downs. Unfortunately, the Cowboys drive ended scoreless after a failed fourth-down play deep in Texans territory. It was the second time this year that Aubrey initially hit a 60+ yarder (he hit a 66-yarder against Cleveland in Week 1) that was negated by a penalty. It makes you wonder how many 60+ yard kicks this guy would make in a year if other people didn’t keep screwing up.

8. McCarthy’s questionable decision

After Rush hit CeeDee Lamb on a 13-yard pass play to the sideline, the Cowboys faced a fourth-and-2 on the Texans’ eight-yard line. Instead of taking the field goal and making it a one-score game, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy opted to go for it. Many people questioned the coach’s decision there, including Troy Aikman, who doesn’t understand analytics, but it’s hard to blame McCarthy for taking a shot there. It’s not like the Cowboys are pushing that deep into their opponent’s territory these days, so that was probably their best chance to get the touchdown. The decision was fine, the play he mentioned, but that’s another story.

9. Another house collapse

The Cowboys have played five home games this season and in each game they trailed by at least 22 points at some point. That’s cray cray. Even in a game that looked like they might have a shot at sneaking a win, things collapsed at AT&T’s unfriendly borders. Like the stadium itself, things eventually just fall apart.

10. Cracking the top 10

Entering the week, the Cowboys were ranked 11th in the draft order, and based on how they’ve been doing lately, we all have higher expectations for April. While losing isn’t fun, this loss drops the Cowboys to 3-7 on the year. They currently sit at the ninth spot, which sets the table for a top draft pick if things continue on this path.