The Texans are looking for their first-ever win at AT&T Stadium, where the Cowboys are 0-4 this year. Something has to give and let's see what the staff writers have to say about Monday's game.
Patrik: There really isn't much for me to say here, if we're being completely honest. On Monday night, in the Battle for Texas, the Cowboys will host the Houston Texans in the hopes of ending a four-game losing streak at AT&T Stadium this season (five in all, stretching back to the postseason in January), but they'll have to do it without another heavy hitter on defense. Jourdan Lewis is ruled out with a neck injury, and DaRon Bland is still not ready to return (oh, and CeeDee Lamb is now battling a back issue). But you know who is returning? Nico Collins for the Texans, a team with a lot of firepower on both sides of the ball who is starved to avoid a three-game losing streak and who will absolutely play the Cowboys as if this is the Super Bowl. I could analyze more here, but there's no point. The Cowboys will need to shock the planet with a M.A.S.H. unit. Not impossible, but highly improbable. 31-13, Texans
Tommy: I've talked a lot about how football is a line of scrimmage game, and whoever has the advantage there has the advantage in most of your matchups. This game to me is just about even, as both the Dallas and Houston offensive fronts have struggled at various points while their defensive units have found success. If that's the case, who has the advantage at the skill positions? Right now, I would say Houston, given that Nico Collins is tracking to be back and Joe Mixon is having a bounce back season, with the addition of playmakers like Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz too. I see the Cowboys' pass rush having a lot of success in this game and keeping Dallas in it similarly to how they did in the first half against the Eagles, but their secondary is going to be without one of if not their best cover back in Jourdan Lewis and an All-Pro in DaRon Bland. That doesn't bode well for Dallas at all, and I think the Texans eventually pull away because of it. Texans 34, Cowboys 14
Nick: I was the little brother growing up. It's not fun. No matter, what you do, you're always going to be younger and less experienced. Now, you can get bigger and taller and all that and grow past your older sibling as the Texans have appeared to do this year. But if you watch how they're playing lately, everything has been close. They'll play up against the better teams, and play down to the teams with lesser records. Something tells me this one will be close as well. I think the Cowboys' defense rides the wave of what they were doing last week. The offense will play better - do they have a choice? The crowd will be raucous because the Texans are coming with their best shot ever to win at AT&T Stadium. I think the Cowboys get some crazy plays on defense and special teams and figure out a way. The kid brother stays down again ... give me the Cowboys 23-19.
Mickey: On the 28-year anniversary of Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol at the time tying the single game NFL record for most field goals made on Nov. 18, 1996, Cowboys Brandon Aubrey is going to make five of them Monday night against the Houston Texans to give the Cowboys a chance to win this game 22-20 against a Texans team that started the season off 6-1 but since has lost three of the last four and the past two straight. Boniol's longest of the seven field goals was two 45-yarders. For Aubrey to reach five, with the Cowboys struggling offense, he's going to need to make at least two 50-yarders to reach five field goals. At some point, the Cowboys, losers of four straight, are going to win a game. Just life in the NFL, and what better night to do so than on Monday Night Football on Nov. 18, too, with Troy Aikman in the booth, who quarterbacked the Cowboys that memorable night in 1996.
