Sunday's 34-30 win over Houston will be remembered as a tale of two halves. The Cowboys looked terrible in the first and second quarters, down by 10 at the break only because the Texans insisted on shooting themselves in the foot. But something clicked during intermission, and the second half saw Dak Prescott & Co. roll off 28 points en route to a thrilling comeback victory.
But buried deep inside those big, dramatic swings of momentum were the smaller details, the almost unnoticeable efforts of a certain player here or a specific position group there that helped turn the tide.
Joey Porter Jr didn't provide any highlights per se, but don't let that fool you into thinking he wasn't a factor. Tyler Guyton was once seen as the offensive line's weak
link, but the former first-round pick showed up and showed out in Week 4. And even though the Cowboys special teams unit is getting roasted these days, veteran punter Bryan Anger is quietly doing his part at an elite level by flipping the field on the regular.
Of course, CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott were the brightest stars in this installment of the Battle for Texas, and their stats certainly reflect that.
And while the Dallas defense may be making incremental progress in their first season under Christian Parker, opposing offenses are still gashing the unit way too often with big-chunk, sucker-punch explosive plays that only dig a deeper hole for the offense to have to climb out of.
Here's a by-the-numbers look at the Cowboys' Week 4 win over the Texans.
0: Receptions allowed by Joey Porter Jr.
Porter played fewer than half the defensive snaps on Sunday after just arriving in Dallas on Thursday. But on 19 coverage reps versus the Texans, the newest Cowboy was targeted just once for zero receptions and zero yards... and quarterback C.J. Stroud never even tried to go to top option Nico Collins any of the five times Porter was on him. Porter didn't show up in the box score, but it's certainly not because he didn't have an impact on the game. Opposing offenses simply don't risk putting the ball anywhere near him. That's why the Cowboys made the move to get him.
3: QB pressures allowed by Tyler Guyton
Tyler Guyton makes this look so easy, absolutely gobbled up this spin move from Danielle Hunter. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Pi2O2SM104
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 5, 2026
Guyton received mixed reviews over his first two seasons, but the Cowboys left tackle is finally living up to his first-round-draft-pick expectations. Using numbers from Patrik Walker of the team website, Guyton allowed zero sacks and very little else on Sunday, despite lining up against two of the game's most notorious game-wreckers. All eight of his snaps versus Will Anderson Jr. and 28 of his 32 reps versus Danielle Hunter were of the one-on-one variety, and Guyton allowed three total pressures between them. Safe to say left tackle isn't a concern in Dallas any longer.
7: Punts this season by Bryan Anger
No team has punted less through four games than the Cowboys. Bryan Anger's 2026 yards-per-punt average of 51.4 stands tied for third leaguewide, and his 58.5 average on two punts Sunday ranks among his 10 best days as a 15-year pro. Both boots versus Houston were downed inside the 20-yard-line, something Anger has done on five of his seven punts so far this season (71.4%). The Dallas defense may still be a work in progress when it comes to stopping offenses, but at least Anger is giving them a good head start by pinning opponents deep when called upon.
8: Plays of 20 yards given up by Cowboys defense
CJ Stroud hits Jaylin Noel in stride for a 52-yard gain.@DALvsHOU on FOX/FOX One
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/qbG0NIBb1d
Nico Collins. Jaylin Noel. Xavier Hutchinson. Kayshon Boutte. Dalton Schultz. David Montgomery. Cade Stover. Each of these Texans players was in on at least one play that went for 20 or more yards against the Cowboys defense on Sunday. And let's not forget how close Houston came to a ninth, almost completing that Hail Mary on the final play, which would have also won them the game. The eight 20-plus-yarders given up to Houston brings the Cowboys' 2026 total to 21. With 245 offensive plays run by opponents through four games, that means Christian Parker's unit is giving up a huge explosive play, on average, once every 11 snaps. The big play is a big problem for Dallas.
17: Career-high receptions for CeeDee Lamb
How massive was Lamb's 17-reception showing in Week 4? Teammate George Pickens is the only Cowboy with that many on the season. (And he has just 18.) It really was a day for the ages for Lamb; in 98 career regular-season games prior to Sunday, Lamb had only ever gotten 17 targets three times. (His 21 targets in the win were also obviously a new career high.) Lamb's 189 receiving yards made for the third-most-productive day in his stellar career; heading into Monday night, he leads the league in targets, catches, and receiving yards. At his current blistering pace of 124.5 yards per game, Lamb would end up with an NFL-record 2,116 on the 2026 season.
85: Career wins for Dak Prescott
With Sunday's victory, Prescott tied Hall of Famer Roger Staubach in regular-season career wins. Only Troy Aikman stands ahead of him now, with 94; Prescott could match or even top that total before this season is done. Obviously, Prescott trails both those legends in the more important categories of postseason success and Super Bowl rings, but No. 4 has taken yet another step toward forever cementing his place in franchise history.
CeeDee's 17TH CATCH OF THE DAY gives the Cowboys the lead!@DALvsHOU on FOX/FOX One
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ZR4FNXLSAz
122: Points scored by Cowboys through 4 games
Sunday marked the third straight outing in which Dallas put more than 30 points on the scoreboard. That hasn't happened since 2023, when the Cowboys ripped off five straight games with 30-plus from Weeks 10 through 14. Could it happen again? Winless Tampa Bay is allowing 24 per contest, and Green Bay is giving up 26.3. The Cowboys are scoring touchdowns at a higher per-drive clip (61.1%) and putting up more points per drive (3.39) than any team in football; their 122 total points are tied for second-most in the NFL.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Explosive plays gashing Cowboys defense at alarming, disastrous rate
