Cowboys at Texans: Five Things to Watch For In Week 3 Match-Up

The Cowboys-Texans face-up Week 3 showcases two franchises that couldn't have started their season in a more different manner.  The Texans got that monkey, or Colt really, off their backs by blasting the Colts to start their season, followed by a huge comeback win against the Redskins last week.  The Cowboys, on the other hand, started their season with Super Bowl hopes only to have every aspect of their play, from offense to special teams to coaching, questioned after two ugly losses in which consistent game play was lacking all around.  With the Cowboys looking not to head into their bye week at 0-3, here are five things to watch for in today's game:

1. Running game

Arian Foster has allowed the Texans to have some balance in their offense, even if the Texans ended up throwing the ball a lot to catch up to the Redskins last week.  Foster keeps the defense honest since defenses have to respect the running game.  The Cowboys, on the other hand, haven't been able to establish the run, and all week long the Cowboys coaching staff and QB Tony Romo spoke about the importance of establishing the running game to get the maligned offense on track.  If the Cowboys can establish the run and prevent the Texans from building an early lead, expect the Cowboys RBs to finally get a bunch of carries.

2. Cowboys secondary vs. Texans WRs

Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins left last week's game against the Bears with a knee injury, but the injury was more of a scare than anything.  Even so, if his knee slows Jenkins down, you can expect the Texans to exploit a Cowboys secondary that only carried three starting CBs the first two weeks of the season.  Expect the Texans to test Jenkins early to find out how well he is moving.

3. Turnovers

The Cowboys have a good defense, but one thing that has been glaringly absent has been turnovers.  This was even more glaring when they were not able to force Jay Cutler, who had 26 INTs last year, into a turnover last week.  Lack of turnovers, on top of a few defensive lapses, doomed the Cowboys against the Bears.  With the potent Texans offense, the Cowboys will have to create turnovers to help out the offense.

4. Offensive TDs

The Cowboys offense is loaded with big-name players, from Tony Romo to Miles Austin to Marion Barber and Felix Jones, and rookie wideout Dez Bryant.  What has been lacking is consistent play and touchdowns.  The Cowboys ended last season being whipped by the Vikings in the second round of the playoffs, putting up only 3 points.  Add to that, the Cowboys have only scored two touchdowns in eight quarters of football this season, and the Cowboys have scored two touchdowns over the last 12 quarters.  Not exactly what you expect out of one of the most talked-about offenses in the country.

5. Coaching

Head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have been on the news so much this last week, you'd almost expect to read about them in the tabloids.  If the Cowboys head into next week's bye at 0-3, the heat will be on Jerry Jones to jump-start his franchise by making a coaching move.  To be fair, Jerry Jones has stated that no coaching change will take place this season, but you have to believe that he would reevaluate if his beloved team starts 0-3.  It may be that everyone is panicking early and all the coach talk has been overblown, but at the end of the day, this league is all about what have you done for me today.