Dallas Cowboys: Five thoughts after the Cowboys' loss to the Texans: DeAndre Hopkins makes the difference; the good news for Dallas

HOUSTON – Parity in the NFL is really impressive. A week after their win over Detroit at the end of the regular season, the Cowboys face the Texans in the same way.

Here is my opinion on the Cowboys' third overall loss and the third loss of the season in the season, 19-16 in overtime at NRG Stadium:

1. The two most talented offensive players on the field Sunday were Ezekiel Elliott and DeAndre Hopkins. Elliott was kept in check all night. Hopkins made the big games when Houston needed them the most. That was the difference in the game. The Texans found a way to bring Hopkins into space after catching nine passes for 151 yards. The Houston defense played all night on Elliott, limiting it to 54 yards in 20 carries. Elliott, who averaged 106.5 yards per game this season, was under 60 yards for the third time in only 30 games. The other two also resulted in Cowboys losses.

"They were just very active in the front," said Elliott. "A lot of moves, a lot of stunts online, they did a great job against our running race."

2 The good news is that the other NFC teams East – Eagles (2-3) and Giants (1-4) – both lost on Sunday and the Redskins (2-1) play Monday night in New Orleans. The division seems to be one of the worst in the league. A 2-3 disc is not the end of the world. That said, 3-2 would put Dallas in a very good position early in the season.

"I do not know, we just have not been offended," said Dak Prescott about the difficulties of the offensive on the road. "I do not know if there is one thing we can identify and say that's why we do not have success on the road and we have that success at home That's what we need to understand We are five In the current season, we still have a lot of balls and we are lucky to have plenty of time to do it, but it must happen quickly, it must to arrive quickly so that we can understand and improve. "

3 This match never even comes in overtime without some of the big stops of the defense on the goal line. Midway through the fourth quarter, it was thought that Houston would score seven points with a goal and a goal against the Dallas 1. But the big games of Jeff Heath, Tyrone Crawford and the rest of the first seven made the difference. , forcing another placement on the Houston field. Whenever it seemed like the Texans had a chance to clear, the Cowboys were making important saves for the defense. Then Jaylon Smith was hit before half-time. Dallas would have had serious problems if he was 17-6 behind at that time. Instead, Smith helped keep the score at 10-6. The former second-round pick had missed a tackle earlier in the series but caught up with perhaps his best game as a Cowboy, hitting quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"We just want to be relentless," Smith said. "We want to fight for every inch, that's what we're proud of: being a tribe and loving each other.We showed it tonight.But there are some pieces in which we can improve. "

4 Good things happen when you force turnovers. Despite being one of the best defensive units in the NFL after a month of play, Dallas is struggling to get points to remember. The Cowboys only got their third of the season early in the third quarter. After a short pass from DeAndre Hopkins, Anthony Brown fired the ball. Jourdan Lewis, who has not played much this season, recovered the ball and brought it back to 14 yards in Houston 16. Dallas scored a touchdown five times later to take a 13-10 lead. . Dallas is the only team in the league that has not been intercepted before security. Xavier Woods eliminated Watson late in the fourth quarter with a 16-16 draw. The game allowed the Cowboys to find the ball with 10 seconds to go, an opportunity they could not grasp because the match was extended. The Cowboys started the fifth week with two points to remember in the league, both coming out of the fumble recovery.

"We are a team," said Jaylon Smith. "If it's a night they do not score, we have to score in defense, we need to provoke more turnovers, we need to put them in a better position to score points, it's a collective effort."

"There will be games where the defense will have to score points, and that's not what we did this year."

5 Happy to see an observation of Rico Gathered in the first quarter. Upon entering the game on Sunday night, Geoff Swaim was the only tight end of the Cowboys' game with a catch in a regular season game. But Gathers sits behind the defense and caught a 30-yard touchdown from Dak Prescott on Dallas's second goal. The game on the right-hand line helped set a second goal, giving the Cowboys a 6-0 lead. Gathers, who has distinguished himself in pre-season and training camp practices, has played every game except one this season. In his previous three games, Gathers has been targeted three times, but failed to get a catch. Although Gathers has not been targeted again, at least the Cowboys show that they will continue to give him the occasional opportunity. Dallas could really use its size in red areas.