Cowboys Texans: Four candidates to be the X-Factor player of the game for Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys will head south 300 miles to face their interstate rivals http://www.thecowboysfootballauthentic.com/geoff-swaim-jersey-authentic , the Houston Texans. There have been some very exciting matchups between the Cowboys and teams from the city of Houston.Near the end of the ‘70s Roger Staubach faced off against the Earl Campbell-led Oilers in a Lonestar shootout that ended with Houston on top, 30-24. In the mid ‘80s, the Cowboys defense would tie an NFL record by sacking Warren Moon 12 times. These organizations went in opposite directions in the ‘90s, with Dallas winning three Super Bowls in four years, while Houston moved to Tennessee. But after 16 years of no football in Houston, the Cowboys would make the trip south to play the Houston Texans in their inaugural game in 2002. The Texans wouldn’t win many games that year (4-12), but they did beat the Cowboys as Dallas would finish 5-11 for the third-straight season, ending Dave Campo’s tenure as the head coach and opening the door for Bill Parcells.The last time these teams met was in 2014 where it took overtime for the Cowboys to win the game 20-17. And it consisted of everyone’s favorite play. I have no words for it, it is Watt it is.Tony Romo came up with some big plays in that game, Dez Bryant hauled down a big catch, and Dan Bailey redeemed himself with the game-winning kick. But those guys are all gone now. Instead of picking a star like Ezekiel Elliott or DeMarcus Lawrence to make the difference, we’re going to look for an out-of-the-way player who will be the x-factor, the guys who makes some big plays to change the game. Let’s check in with the front page writers and see what they have to say.Tom Ryle: Chidobe AwuzieAwuzie got picked on a lot by Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions receivers. While the numbers posted against him show a really bad day, a closer look at the video reveals that his coverage was, at times, very good, with basically perfect throws the only way some passes could be completed. Deshaun Watson has not been nearly as accurate as Stafford was last Sunday http://www.thecowboysfootballauthentic.com/tyrone-crawford-jersey-authentic , and has thrown a pick in each of his first four games. The Cowboys, as you are aware, have not gotten an interception yet this season. Something has to give, and if the Texans give Byron Jones the “we ain’t going his way” treatment the Lions did, then Awuzie is the most likely DB to break the string for Dallas. If he is able to put last week’s game behind him, this could be a very big game for him.Danny Phantom: Jeff HeathDeshaun Watson has thrown a pick in every game so far this season, so if the Cowboys are the one team that can’t come away with an interception against him, then I’ll be thoroughly convinced they got some hocus pocus weird voodoo jinx going against them this season. And who better to end the interception drought than Jeff Heath. Over the last three seasons, no Cowboys player has more picks than Heath as he’s led the team in interceptions in two of the last three seasons. That is both exciting and sad... correction, it’s just sad.While Heath has been on the wrong end of some big plays for opposing offenses, he is one of the few defensive backs that have shown up at the end of games to seal the victory. Watson is a deep-ball thrower and it just feels like this game is going to be won or lost with how well the safeties play on Sunday night. I think we are about due for a game saving play from Mr. Heath.Dave Halprin: Randy GregoryThe Texans will be hyper-focused on trying to control DeMarcus Lawrence. They won’t succeed totally, but all that attention should open up opportunities for other players. In this game, Randy Gregory will be the beneficiary. Gregory has had a tough start to the year, failing to produce and missing time due to injury. There was plenty of hype for him heading into the season but so far it’s been a dud. This is the week that changes as he gets a sack, a couple of tackles for loss and is generally disruptive. Michael Sisemore: Red zone offenseI’m going in a different direction here but this is going to be the biggest factor in the game. Who can put the ball in the end zone? The Texans defense have allowed their opponents to score on 79% of their red zone attempts, that’s sixth-worst in the league. The Cowboys offense has only scored on 40% of their trips, which is fourth-worst in the league. Whether it’s Dak Prescott Womens Joe Looney Jersey , Ezekiel Elliott, Geoff Swaim, Tavon Austin, or Cole Beasley...this team needs TOUCHDOWNS! The Texans are also scoring 24 points per game to the Cowboys, who are under 17. That must change because this Houston defense is allowing 27 points per game to opponents, while Dallas is Top-10 in scoring defense. The Texans offense is also 44% in the red zone, the Cowboys defense will help their offense but they must to do their part and score points.Who do you think will be the X-Factor player of the game?Tweetcap: Cowboys offense sputters in 16-8 loss to Panthers, what happened? It’s simple. We often hear about how NFL offenses need continuity to reach their potential. It takes time to build continuity and sometimes defenses come into week one a little more prepared than the offenses. Following suit with a few other teams in the NFL, the Cowboys joined in as an offense that has severe execution issues. What happened?Well, credit the Panthers, who were just a smidge better but let’s start with these quarterbacks. Both Cam Newton and Dak Prescott had similar outings:We’ll come back to Dak Prescott in a few moments, let’s hit the uncomfortable areas one at a time.A.) Blocking was awfulThe true difference was that the Cowboys offensive line, with no help from an inaccurate quarterback, underachieved in a major way. It’s interesting too because it was the Panthers’ offensive line that was advertised as outmatched. They even lost another starter in their victory:Any way you slice it, this offensive line got off to a bad start and played way out of character. For instance, what was up with Tyron Smith?Holding calls kill any momentum for an offense and Tyron Smith wasn’t alone, La’el Collins was also drawing the laundry:It was going to be a tough matchup for rookie Connor Williams going up against the Panthers standout DT Kawann Short. Williams was just no match for Short from the get-go:The Panthers knew that was a favorable matchup for them and they attacked Williams with regularity. Often times they tried to isolate the rookie which was a very bad thing for him:Backup center Joe Looney had a decent outing but was a product of his environment at times. He couldn’t ever be Travis Frederick Youth Kavon Frazier Jersey , reaching to help out the rookie, but he could have been better:The Cowboys gave up six sacks for -32 yards lost, which is plain awful. In fact, last year’s dreadful “Atlanta Game” featured 8 sacks for -50 yards, the Cowboys came close to that again. B.) We have a “Dakuracy” problemAs bad as the offensive line played, at times they gave Dak Prescott protection but he only compounded the issues. He either held onto the ball too long or was inaccurate on the move, which is an area he typically excels in.Before we just dump all over Dak Prescott, he was also the only reason they got into the end zone for eight points. On their only scoring drive, he literally willed this team down the field with his legs, arm, and a little help from Ezekiel Elliott to put the ball in the end zone. Prescott also ran a QB draw to make it a one possession game but for the most part, Dak was just way off. It comes down to this very astute point by Mike Doocy:He didn’t have much help, his receivers weren’t reliable outside of completions to Cole Beasley. For example, on 4th and 10, blame Dak for delivering a late ball to Deonte Thompson on the comeback route. At the same time, blame Thompson for letting that ball go through his hands. There was a clear trust issues between Dak and his receivers in this game and it must get fixed quickly.C.) Ezekiel Elliott was bottled up by stout run defense but coaching shares blameEzekiel Elliott showed his rust against the Panthers because the guy we all know would not allow this:Though Zeke admits that he needs to play much better than he did, he’s not blaming the lack of work in the preseason:The Panthers are a top-notch run defense and you have to come in expecting them to do what they do well. The Cowboys coaching staff is too stubborn for it’s own good at times. The coaches need to find other ways to win because it’s not going to work perfectly each time. It’s insane that they couldn’t get the only two players with definable ways to beat you involved more in their passing game:Zeke had three receptions for 17 yards Youth Jaylon Smith Jersey , one of his catches was for 13 of those yards. The Panthers kept feeding Christian McCaffrey even when it didn’t work but they kept persisting. If Zeke is the only guy that truly scares the defense, the Cowboys should have at least tried to get him more involved. As for Tavon Austin, we heard he would be getting touches in this offense with his blazing speed. So much for that?You can’t win many games when you don’t try to get guys involved. Coaching has to be better because they owe it to their quarterback to help him succeed. They didn’t do that in week one and it all unraveled very quickly.So, though popular opinions on social media among media types have determined the following: 1.) They missed Dez Bryant, he would have made those tough catches2.) Dan Bailey would have made that kick, why Brett Maher, why?Realize that none of those two things are anything more than fun fodder for a discussion dominated by overreaction. The truth is much simpler as the offense failed miserably in a series of events: Bad blocking led to poor quarterback play which was exacerbated by pitiful coaching.Now, the staff has to regroup, realize their shortcomings, and hopefully better themselves for week two against the Giants. Guess what, coaches? That New York team is good at stopping the run, too. This Cowboys offense has to improve on the fly because there is no such thing as patience in the National Football League.