Houston Texans: Week 2 preseason by the numbers in win over Cowboys

The Houston Texans had themselves a successful Saturday night as they not only won against the host Dallas Cowboys by a 20-14 at AT&T Stadium, but some of the numbers jump off the page as they worked their way to a 2-0 preseason record.

Even with Houston playing away from NRG Stadium for their first two preseason games this season, they’ve played better in their preseason win over the Cowboys than they did in the Week 1 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers.

As for the numbers against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday one that stands out in a positive way was the improvement of Texans quarterback Davis Mills with the rookie going 10-of-16 for 115 yards with no touchdowns, and more importantly zero interceptions. He was sacked once for a loss of eight yards all while averaging 7.2 yards per completion. Mills also rushed for seven yards on one carry.

With just one preseason game left before the regular season begins the Houston Texans would be smart to get Mills all the snaps possible in the final preseason game next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 28 as the starter should be Tyrod Taylor when the regular season begins.

With the Texans having a six-point win on Saturday against Dallas, here are some more numbers that stood out against the Cowboys.

1- The one interception by Lonnie Johnson Jr. was maybe the most exciting play of the game made by the Houston Texans. Johnson returned the interception for a 53-yard touchdown for Houston’s second touchdown of the game. The number one also shows up this week with Charles Omenihu having a fumble recovery, and Jacob Martin with one forced fumble and one sack.

3 – Speaking of Johnson’s interception for a touchdown, the number three comes about as the defense of the Texans had three interceptions against the Cowboys. The other two interceptions (one each) were by Terrence Brooks and Shyheim Carter.

3.2 – Should the Texans be worried about their 3.2 yards per carry average from the Week 2 preseason win? Mark Ingram led the way with 24 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, for a 3.4 ypc average with his longest run going for eight yards. Phillip Lindsay had four carries for two yards, and fellow running back Scottie Phillips finished with four carries for 16 yards. This is something to watch moving forward.

14.5 – Keke Coutee may have only had two receptions but the positive for him was the 14.5 yards per reception average. Coutee’s best reception was 25 yards, and he also had a four-yard catch. If Coutee can have a couple 25-yard receptions during games in the regular season he could be a game-changer for the Texans offense, but he needs to stay on the field.

29 – Desmond King has been an excellent addition to the special teams of the Texans, and in this Week 2 preseason game he had one kick return for 29 yards. This could also have been the No. 24 spotlighted as King had one punt return for a 24-yard gain. King could give the Texans excellent field position at times in ’21 which would be a big help to the offense.

33 – Texans wide receiver Chris Moore led the Houston Texans with 33 yards on two receptions on two targets. Moore averaged 16.5 yards per reception. Moore’s best catch went for 26 yards.

61 – This was the number of the best punt of the night by Texans punter Cameron Johnston, with the punt traveling 61 yards. In his six punts against the Cowboys, Johnston averaged 51.5 yards per punt. In comparison, Cowboys punter Bryan Anger had five punts for an average of 47.8 yards.

89 – Houston’s rushing game totaled 89 yards on the ground on 28 carries. A total of eight players were credited with a carry, with the longest run being 13 yards by quarterback Jeff Driskel.

213 – The Texans defense allowed 213 passing yards against the Cowboys. Granted Dak Prescott didn’t play in the game, but this is a positive as the defense is playing improved over the product on the field last season. Defensive coordinator is making a difference as a member of the coaching staff.

Next for the Houston Texans is the preseason finale on Saturday, Aug. 28 at home against the Tampa Bay buccaneers.