Texans vs. Cowboys scores, live updates: Houston looks to bounce back on Monday Night Football as Dallas tries for first home win

On By Littum

The Dallas Cowboys are in freefall — four straight losses, barely competitive in any home game this season, and hamstring surgery that will sideline Dak Prescott until next season. Team owner Jerry Jones says there won’t be a coaching change this season, but with the team averaging 23 points per game. outings in home games this year, something needs to change in JerryWorld.

The Cowboys (3-6) will look to pick up their first home win of the season when the Houston Texans (6-4) travel to North Texas, fresh off an unusual loss last Sunday night to the Detroit Lions. Houston intercepted Jared Goff five times and still lost.

However, Houston holds the lead in the AFC South — ahead of the Colts by two games in the standings, and has also swept Indy this season — and will look to blow that on Monday Night Football. Receiver Nico Collins, who was activated from IR and added to the 53-man roster but did not play last week, will be at full speed after a hamstring injury cost him the past five games.

  • Time: 8:15 PM ET

  • Location: AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas

  • TV channel: ESPN, ESPN2 (ManningCast)

  • Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo

Live15 updates

  • Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson is out

    More bad news for the Cowboys. Starting tight end Jake Ferguson is in concussion protocol and out for the game. Houston takes a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.

  • Joe Mixon scores again for a 14-0 Texans lead

    The Dallas defense is overmatched. Joe Mixon ran for his second touchdown of the night to cap a 10-play, 63-yard drive. The Texans extend their lead to 14-0 and have scored touchdowns on two of their three possessions against a porous Dallas defense that struggles to contain the run.

  • Cowboys give the ball back

    Now it’s the Texans’ turn for an interception. Cooper Rush looked for CeeDee Lamb on third-and-8. Instead, he found Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who stripped the ball to take possession of Houston at the Dallas 37-yard line.

    In two possessions, the Cowboys have now fumbled a fake punt and thrown an interception. Houston leads 7-0 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.

  • Cowboys get the ball back

    Facing fourth-and-3 at the Dallas 30 after the failed fake punt, the Texans elected to go for it instead of kicking a field goal. CJ Stroud threw an interception to Malik Hooker on a downfield pass and the Cowboys avoided an early double-digit deficit.

  • Cowboys’ fake punt backfires

    It’s a disastrous start for Dallas. The Cowboys faked a punt and completed a pass on fourth down. But Houston’s punt return team was ready, and John Metchie III tackled Dallas’ Juanyeh Thomas for a four-yard gain, five yards from the sticks. A turnover on downs gives the Texans the ball in Cowboys territory while holding a 7-0 lead.

  • Texans return fumble for big-play TD from Joe Mixon

    Their first touchdown didn’t count, so six plays later the Texans scored another.

    Joe Mixon rumbled for 45 yards and a touchdown to give the Texans an early lead. This was just moments after a penalty negated Nico Collins’ expected 77-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Houston leads, 7-0, and the Dallas defense manages to give up two big-play touchdowns on one possession.

  • Texans TD on opening play called back

    The Texans opened with a dream start, a 77-yard catch-and-run by Nico Collins on a screen pass for a touchdown in Collins’ first game back after a five-game absence. But left tackle Laremy Tunsil was too far down and was penalized as an ineligible receiver.

    Instead of a 77-yard score, the Texans lost five yards. Brutal punishment.

  • We are underway. The Texans received the opening kickoff and will start their opening possession from the Houston 23-yard line.

  • The creepy “Monday Night Football” intro plays, so that means we’re moments from kickoff.

  • Here’s ESPN’s Lisa Salters on the roof issues at AT&T Stadium.

    A piece of metal fell and another was loose and stuck on the catwalk above the field. Stadium workers secured the piece of metal in the catwalk to ensure it did not fall during the game. The game proceeds as planned with the retractable roof closed:

  • CeeDee Lamb appeared on the injury report late in the week with back problems but will play tonight. Here he runs a route and catches a pass in pregame warmups.

  • Here’s a stadium worker clearing debris from the rafters at AT&T Stadium. According to reports, no one was injured when a chunk of metal from the roof fell onto the turf during preparations for the match.

  • Chunk of metal falls from the roof of AT&T Stadium

    This is not good. A piece of metal fell from the roof of the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium when the roof was opened during pregame preparations for the stadium. The game will go forward as previously scheduled, but the roof will remain closed on a clear North Texas night with temperatures in the upper 60s.

    Check here for the full story.

  • CeeDee Lamb will play for the Cowboys

    The Cowboys inactives are in and CeeDee Lamb will play. The All-Pro wide receiver was questionable heading into the game with a back injury, but appeared to have avoided a setback in warmups and is not among Dallas’ inactives.

  • Nico Collins in, Will Anderson Jr., Kamari Lassiter out for Texans

    The Texans’ inactives are included. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who was ruled out Saturday, is among them. So is cornerback Kamari Lassiter, who remains sidelined with a concussion.

    But Nico Collins is not. Houston’s no. 1 receiver returns from a five-game absence with a hamstring injury and will reportedly play without restrictions.