Cowboys vs. Texans: Battle for the Governor’s Cup
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans meet for a state-rivalry contest on Sunday Night Football on Sunday, Oct. 7 in Week 5 of the 2018 NFL Season
Since the Houston Texans entered the NFL in 2002, they’ve become a rival with their in-state counterparts, the Dallas Cowboys. The teams meet annually in the preseason in what has been dubbed the “Governor’s Cup” games.
Usually, it’s for bragging rights, being a preseason game, but this time it counts in the standings as the clubs have their once every four seasons matchup during the year.
On the field, it looks to be a good game. The Cowboys are fresh off an exciting last-second win against the Lions. In that game, we saw new kicker Brett Maher knock one through the uprights as time expired — which may ease some of those still stressed about the release of Dan Bailey.
Their defense has been much better than prior seasons, although they can’t seem to create turnovers to save their lives. And in Week 4, their offense finally looked to be moving steadily.
Fortunately for the Texans, their defense is also starting to round into shape. Known as the strength of their team for years, the defense has been lackluster, but Jadeveon Clowney and J.J. Watt have both been playing well the past two weeks. This could put a strain on the underwhelming Dallas offense.
As for their own offense, the one knock is their turnovers — which may not be a problem since Dallas defenders seem allergic to the football and won’t put their hands on it.
TV and Live Stream Info
Date: Sunday, Oct. 7
Start time: 8:20 P.M. est
Location: Houston, TX
Stadium: NRG Stadium
TV Info: NBC
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket, FuboTV, NBC Sports App
Oddsmakers have this one pretty close, with Houston getting the edge. Their offense surely is the better one between these two teams and Dallas has been pretty anemic on the road in the early season.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Houston -3
Moneyline: Houston -182, Dallas +140
Over/Under: 45
Prediction
Dallas has a way of following a good game with a bad one and they’ve been especially porous on offense when they hit the road. Then again, they do seem to play better in the bright lights.
Cowboys 7-Round 2019 NFL Mock. dark. Next
Even so, they’ll have a hard time stopping this offense and the Texans defense is rounding into shape, which is a bad thing for Dallas. Ezekiel Elliott will keep it close as he’s been playing lights out, but he can’t keep doing it on his own.
Final Score: Dallas 28, Houston 31