Cowboys Recap & Takeaways: CeeDee Lamb's Historic Day Fuels Wild Comeback Win vs. Texans

The Dallas Cowboys erased a 10-point halftime deficit Sunday in Houston, rallying past the Texans 34-30 after Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds remaining.

Lamb finished the day with 17 catches on 21 targets for 189 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player in Cowboys history with 15 or more receptions, 150 or more receiving yards and a receivinbg touchdown in a single game. 

Still ... Dallas had spent the first half looking completely stuck.

Houston's coverage gave Prescott nowhere to go. Will Anderson Jr. and Jadeveon Clowney kept collapsing the pocket. Nico Collins kept finding space.

Then the Cowboys came out of halftime and looked like an entirely different team.

They scored 28 second-half points, survived Houston retaking the lead with 2:23 remaining and drove 74 yards in 1:43 for the winner.

Prescott to Lamb ... does it get more fitting?

Houston needed one offensive snap to find the matchup it wanted.

C.J. Stroud hit Collins for 45 yards on the first play from scrimmage, then went back to him for a seven-yard touchdown to finish the opening drive.

Dallas answered with a solid possession of its own, but settled for a Brandon Aubrey field goal.

7-3.

The problem became obvious pretty quickly.

Houston's coverage was excellent, and Prescott had nowhere to go with the football. Anderson and Clowney made waiting for something to open even harder.

Meanwhile, DaRon Bland was getting picked on.

Jayden Noel beat him for 52 yards on Houston's next possession before Dallas recovered and forced a field goal.

10-3.

1. Bland is becoming a problem - Houston went right at him, and Dallas didn't have much of an answer. At some point, something has to change.

2. Houston's coverage is legit - Prescott wasn't simply missing throws. There were snaps where nobody was open.

3. Run defense showed up - Houston wasn't getting much on the ground. Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary were both active early.

SECOND QUARTER:

Dallas' defense started settling in.

Gary got home for a sack. Clark kept making plays inside. Malik Hooker delivered a huge hit.

Houston punted on consecutive possessions.

But Dallas couldn't do much with either opportunity.

Aubrey hit from 50 to make it 10-6, but Anderson continued wrecking things up front. Later, he blocked Aubrey's 62-yard attempt.

Houston turned the field position into another field goal.

13-6.

Then came one of the strangest decisions of the half.

After Prescott took consecutive sacks, Dallas sent Aubrey out for a 65-yard attempt with 30 seconds remaining.

Miss.

Houston got the ball near midfield and Ka'imi Fairbairn drilled a 54-yarder as time expired.

16-6.

1. Will Anderson is everywhere - Pressure, run defense, blocked field goal ... Anderson completely changed the first half.

2. Defense deserved better - Dallas kept getting stops and giving the offense another chance. It wasn't getting much help.

3. What was that? - The 65-yard attempt gave Houston an opportunity for three more points before halftime. A seven-point deficit became 10.

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Then Dallas woke up.

The Cowboys went straight down the field to open the half. Lamb caught a 30-yarder, and Javonte Williams finished the four-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown.

16-13.

Completely different offense.

Naturally, Dallas followed by allowing a 53-yard kickoff return.

Houston capitalized, with Collins finding the soft spot in Dallas' zone for a 22-yard touchdown.

23-13.

Dallas answered again.

Prescott uncorked a 53-yard shot to George Pickens, instantly putting the Cowboys in the red zone.

Getting the final few yards was ... less simple.

Williams lost three. Prescott missed Lamb. Prescott scrambled on fourth down. Houston committed defensive holding.

Finally, Williams punched it in.

23-20.

Dallas' defense answered with another stop, and Prescott began looking increasingly comfortable diagnosing what Houston was throwing at him.

The frantic first-half offense was gone.

1. Where was this offense? - Dallas scored touchdowns on both of its first two possessions after halftime. Prescott was getting the ball out and finally finding answers.

2. CeeDee is taking over - Every important Dallas possession seemed to start running through No. 88.

3. Nico is still a problem - Man didn't solve Collins. Neither did zone. Houston kept finding him.

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Dallas opened the quarter moving backward.

T.J. Bass was called for holding.

Tyler Guyton false start.

First-and-10 became first-and-25.

Then Lamb erased most of it.

Prescott found him for 21 yards, then another 17 to put Dallas at the Houston 3.

Williams scored his third touchdown of the second half two plays later.

27-23.

Dallas had its first lead.

Quinnen Williams finally got home for an 11-yard sack on Houston's next possession, forcing another punt.

Dallas went three-and-out.

Of course.

Houston answered with an 87-yard touchdown drive.

The Cowboys had the Texans in first-and-20 and later third-and-14, but couldn't finish the stop. Stroud dumped the ball to Dalton Schultz, who lateraled to David Montgomery for 21 yards.

Woody Marks scored one play later.

30-27.

Dallas had 2:23.

Prescott had Lamb.

That was enough.

Lamb caught five passes on the final possession. Pickens added a ridiculous 22-yard grab down the left side to put Dallas at the Houston 12.

Then Prescott went back to No. 88.

Twelve yards.

Touchdown.

34-30.

Lamb finished with a career-high 17 catches for 189 yards and the winner.

Those 17 receptions were the most by any NFL player in a game since Keenan Allen caught 18 against Minnesota in September 2023.

They also left Lamb one catch shy of Jason Witten's Cowboys single-game record of 18.

And this start is already running ahead of Lamb's monster 2023 season.

Through four games that year, he had 23 catches for 309 yards.

Through four this year?

37 catches. 498 yards.

1. CeeDee. Wow. - Seventeen catches. 189 yards. The game-winning touchdown. Lamb didn't just take over the game ... he nearly made franchise history doing it.

2. Dak won it - Down three with 2:23 left, Prescott drove Dallas 74 yards in 1:43 and delivered the throw that won the game. After Houston suffocated him early, he kept finding answers.

3. Completely different team after halftime - Dallas scored six points in the first half. It scored 28 after it. Williams ran for three touchdowns, Lamb took over and Prescott finished the comeback.

Dallas moves to 2-2.

For two quarters, this looked like another game Dallas was going to lose because of its own mistakes.

Bad decisions. Protection problems. Coverage breakdowns. Missed opportunities.

Then Lamb took over.

Williams scored three times. Prescott kept answering. Dallas went from completely stuck to scoring 28 points in a half against a defense that had made life miserable earlier.

And when Houston made the Cowboys find one more answer with 2:23 left ...

Prescott went back to No. 88.

Good choice.