The Cowboys return to Monday Night Football for the first time this season, hosting the in-state rivals from Houston.
While the Cowboys have lost four straight, the Texans have lost three of four, looking to win their first game ever at AT&T Stadium.
Here are the 10 big storylines for the week, with five for the Texans and five for the Cowboys.
Texans
- The Texans, sitting at 6-4, have played 10 games this year and one thing seems rather consistent – the games are going to be close. Eight of the games so far have been decided by one score, including five by three points or less. One of those was last Sunday's nail-biting loss to the Lions. Houston blew a 23-7 halftime lead and lost to Detroit on a last-second field goal, losing its third game in four weeks after starting the season 5-1.
- J. Stroud ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards with 2,371 but he hasn't put up monster numbers in Year 2 after last year's Rookie of the Year campaign. Stroud has benefited from the acquisition of Joe Mixon, who has brought some balance to the offense. Mixon has 655 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
- When he's out there, Nico Collins has arguably been one of the NFL's best receivers this year. Collins leads the league in yards/per game at 113.4. Collins hasn't played since the Week 6 game on Oct. 6. In the five games he's played this year, Collins has three 100-yard performances. When he returns it'll be the first time playing since Stefon Diggs was lost for the season. The injury to Diggs prevented yet another chance to face his brother, Trevon Diggs, on the other side. Last year, the Cowboys cornerback was out for the year when they played at Buffalo and against Stefon.
- For the success the Texans are having offensively, they haven't been able to protect C.J. Stroud as well as they would've hoped. Stroud has been sacked 34 times, second-most in the NFL and the 269 lost yards on sacks is the most by any player in the league.
- Houston's defense ranks third in the NFL in yards allowed, yielding just 288 per game. The Texans are seventh in the league in sacks with 29, but didn't get one last week against the Lions. Houston also has 13 interceptions, tied for second in the league. Calen Bullock is tied for the NFL lead with four picks this season.
Cowboys
- Dak Prescott's season is now officially over. The Cowboys quarterback will undergo surgery Wednesday in New York to repair his partially torn hamstring. Prescott will got to season-ending IR. Prescott suffered the injury against the Falcons. His season ends with 1,978 passing yards, 11 TDs and eight interceptions. His 86.0 quarterback rating is the lowest of his career.
- Behind Dak, the Cowboys are sticking with Cooper Rush as the starter. Both Mike McCarthy and owner/GM Jerry Jones said they believe Rush can play better than the performance we saw Sunday. Rush is now 5-2 as a starter – both against the Eagles. But there is still a chance we see Trey Lance in spot duty. The Cowboys also added Will Grier to the practice squad on Tuesday.
- Micah Parsons returned after four-game absence and made a statement – both on and off the field. He registered two sacks and a forced fumble against the Eagles, showing that his high-ankle sprain seems fully healed. In the post-game locker room, Parsons made some headlines with a statement regarding Mike McCarthy's future as head coach, although McCarthy and Jerry Jones said the air has been cleared between Parsons and the coaching staff.
- The Cowboys just can't seem to get things going on the ground, no matter who they try to hand the ball off to. Rico Dowdle has been the best running back on the team this year, especially in recent weeks. But even Sunday, when he was running the ball effectively, the Cowboys went to Ezekiel Elliott around the goal line and Zeke lost his first red-zone fumble of his career. The Cowboys remain 31st in rushing this year, averaging 83.7 yards per game.
- For the first time since 2010, the Cowboys have lost their first four homes games at AT&T Stadium. Dallas did manage to win the fifth game that year, something the Cowboys are hoping to do again on Monday night. Not since 1989, when the Cowboys lost all eight home games, have they started off this slow on their home turf.
