Texans’ Rushing Attack Continues to Hold Offense Back in Loss to Cowboys

The Houston Texans found plenty of success throwing the football against the Dallas Cowboys, but their rushing attack once again failed to provide enough support in a 34-30 loss that dropped the team to 0-4 and leaving them as one the five winless teams remaining.

Houston finished with just 62 rushing yards on 19 attempts, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. David Montgomery led the team with 10 carries for 24 yards, while Woody Marks added 22 yards and a touchdown on six attempts. C.J. Stroud contributed 12 rushing yards on two carries, while Jaylin Noel had four yards on one attempt.

The lack of production on the ground has become a recurring issue for Houston.

Montgomery has now failed to reach 35 rushing yards in each of the Texans’ last three games after opening the season with 60 yards against Buffalo. Marks has also struggled to consistently create explosive plays, though his six-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter briefly gave Houston a 30-27 lead.

The problem against Dallas was not necessarily a lack of opportunities, it was taking advantage of them.

That puts even more responsibility on Stroud to keep the offense moving through the air.

Stroud delivered one of his best performances of the season, but the Texans cannot continue relying almost entirely on their passing game to generate offense.

A functional rushing attack would give Houston more balance, create easier situations for Stroud and potentially help the offense control the game late. Against Dallas, the Texans were unable to consistently stay ahead of the chains on the ground, while the Cowboys eventually found enough success running the football to produce three rushing touchdowns from Javonte Williams.

The offense has shown they can move the ball through the air. Stroud threw for 347 yards, Houston finished with 397 total yards and the team scored 30 points.

That makes the lack of rushing production even more frustrating.

Houston does not necessarily need to rely solely on the run. They simply need the ground game to become reliable enough that defenses cannot focus almost exclusively on stopping Stroud and the passing attack.

At 0-4, the Texans have very little room for continued offensive inconsistency. Stroud and the passing game have shown they can produce, but the rushing attack has yet to give them enough support.

Until that changes, Houston's offense will continue to be more difficult to sustain than it needs to be.