How Cowboys narrowly escaped a second straight, devastating loss

· Yahoo Sports

The Dallas Cowboys escaped Houston with a late game win against the Texans. Down by three points with the game on the line, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys put together the drive of the year thus far, but they left time on the clock for almost another excruciating loss.

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Just a week after the heartbreaking ending against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, the Cowboys nearly did the unfathomable, losing in consecutive weeks on the final play of the game. The Texans were way too close to having a miracle finish and sending the Cowboys home stunned once again.

On quarterback C.J. Stroud’s hail mary to end the game, the Texans had a realistic chance to make the catch. Former Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz had the ball go off the tip of his right hand, shoulder and helmet before falling to the ground incomplete. Houston Chronicle photographer Brett Coomer captured just how close the Cowboys were to giving the Texans a miraculous win.

If Schultz, or any other Texans receiver, caught the ball it would have been a devastating loss for the Cowboys. It would have dropped the team to 1-3, while Brian Schottenheimer and Christian Parker would have been scrutinized for their decisions throughout the game. Schottenheimer for how he handled the final minute of the first half, and Parker for an odd defensive plan on the hail mary.

The Cowboys chose not to line up any defender on the line of scrimmage and created no pressure on Stroud's throw. Instead, they dropped everyone in coverage, except for linebacker Shemar James in the middle of the field, as well as Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku, who were on the sidelines hesitating before running in for a pseudo-pass rush. 

That left eight players to defend against the final pass, and safety Malik Hooker didn’t do what players are taught to do in that situation, which is knock the ball down. Instead, Hooker tries to catch it, had the ball go through his hands and almost found a way into Schultz’s for the win.

Luckily for the Cowboys, the pass fell incomplete and the team walked away winners. Disaster was averted, but it was much closer than it needed to be at the end.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: How Cowboys narrowly escaped a second straight, devastating loss

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