Things went south even before kickoff for the Dallas Cowboys as a piece of the roof at AT&T Stadium fell to the field, foreshadowing yet another disastrous home performance.
The Cowboys suffered a humiliating 34-10 defeat to the Houston Texans on Monday night, extending their winless streak at home to 0-5 for the season and 0-6 overall at AT&T Stadium, including playoffs.
A Season of Frustration
Dallas (3-7) hasn’t seen such poor home performance since 1989, the first year under owner Jerry Jones, when they went 0-8 at Texas Stadium. Monday’s loss showcased familiar struggles, from red zone inefficiency to untimely penalties.
Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged the frustration. “We have a lot of moving parts going on, and we just have to be cleaner and more detailed in certain spots,” he said.
Key Moments: Missed Opportunities and Mistakes
- Roof Incident: Hours before the game, debris from the retractable roof fell 300 feet onto the field during testing. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
- Offensive Woes: Dallas managed 388 total yards but reached the red zone just once. A promising third-quarter drive was derailed by penalties and an incompletion on fourth-and-2 from the Texans’ 8-yard line.
- Defensive Meltdown: Houston running back Joe Mixon scored his third touchdown late in the game, capping off a drive marred by multiple unnecessary roughness penalties against Dallas defenders.
Record-Setting Home Struggles
The Cowboys are the only team in NFL history to trail by 20+ points in six consecutive home games, including playoffs. They’ve also joined the ranks of the 2020 Jaguars and 2008 Lions as teams that trailed by 21 points or more five times in a single season.
In those six home losses, Dallas has led for a mere 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Their last lead came during a 47-9 blowout against Detroit on October 13—owner Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday.
What’s Next for Dallas?
The Cowboys now sit five games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. With a trip to Washington (7-4) on Sunday and a Thanksgiving home game against the New York Giants (2-8), their chances of salvaging the season grow slimmer by the week.
A year removed from winning the NFC East, Dallas finds itself on the verge of an all-time low, with home-field advantage proving anything but. Fans can only hope the team finds a way to stop the bleeding—both on the field and from their retractable roof.
