ARLINGTON, Texas – – Joe Mixon ran for three touchdowns, Derek Barnett returned a fumble 28 yards for a score and the Houston Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-10 on Monday night.

The Texans (7-4) stopped just the second two-game losing streak in quarterback C.J. Stroud’s two seasons while maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC South.

In a season full of things that went wrong for the Cowboys (3-7), debris fell from their stadium’s retractable roof as it opened a few hours before the game.

There were no delays and no injuries reported, just another misfortune that heralded a fifth straight loss for a team that has lost a total of five games in each of the past three playoff seasons.

Cooper Rush threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin but lost his second start since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury. Dallas’ losing streak is its longest since seven games in 2015.

The Cowboys trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter when Barnett knocked the ball out of Rush’s hand as he was throwing. Dallas rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton caught the ball and tried to run when Jalen Pitre knocked the ball loose.

Barnett took the ball and scored, although he almost stepped out of bounds and ran freely towards a pylon.

Earlier, the Cowboys appeared to have come within a touchdown on a 64-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey, but Barnett was penalized for hitting Terence Steele during the rush.

Dallas erased the points by taking the penalty, but Rush’s fourth-down pass from Houston’s 8-yard line was incomplete.

Texans receiver Nico Collins returned after missing five games with a hamstring injury and took a 77-yard screen pass to the end zone the first time he touched the ball, but he was recalled due to an ineligible receiver in the field .

That possession ended with a touchdown anyway on Mixon’s 45-yard dash up the middle, and he ran wide for a 1-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Mixon had 109 yards rushing and set up a field goal with a 37-yard catch-and-run on a screen.

Already without Prescott, the Cowboys lost tight end Jake Ferguson to a concussion and perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith to ankle injuries. Rush was sacked five times, three on the same possession when Martin and Smith were injured.

The Texans didn’t need much from Stroud, who was in a mini-slump. He threw for 257 yards with an early interception on fourth down.

Rush was 32 of 55 for 354 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Turpin had three catches for 86 yards.

Injuries

Texans DE Will Anderson Jr., who entered the week tied for fifth in the NFL with 7 1/2 sacks, was inactive due to an ankle injury. … Cowboys DB Markquese Bell did not return after injuring his shoulder on a second-quarter kickoff.

Next

Texans: Host Tennessee Sunday.

Cowboys: Sunday at Washington.

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