It's about to be a long season for the Houston Texans, now staring at 0-4 and with no end in sight.
After going up by four points with just over two minutes left at home, the Dallas Cowboys marched back to set up a game-winning touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb with under 30 seconds remaining in a 34-30 win over the Texans in Week 4.
For the second straight week, the defense couldn't deliver on the final drive to keep points off the board while securing a win. For the second time in seven seasons, the Texans will enter the month of October winless, though back in 2020, firing Bill O'Brien already had one foot out the door.
That's not the case for DeMeco Ryans. Well, at least not yet.
Who played and how much time were they on the field?
Below is a breakdown of the playing time from Sunday's loss, including some separation at wide receiver, running back, tight end and a deeper rotation at linebacker.
Offense
For the first time this season, Jaylin Noel was on the field for more than 20 snaps. This was a subject of conversation since the second-year wideout had been making explosive plays across the middle of the field in the past two games while totaling fewer than 20 snaps.
This week, he finished with 34 snaps, which equates to playing in 64% of all plays.
Nico Collins led the wideouts with 69% snap shares at wide receiver, followed by Noel and Kayshon Boutte at 62%. Hutchinson, who finished with three catches for 64 yards, only played in 17 snaps, while tight ends Brevin Jordan and Cade Stover played in 18 combined snaps.
As for the offensive line, no changes whatsoever, though Blake Fisher was called upon as an extra lineman five times, which rounds out to 14%. Among the running backs, David Montgomery finished with 34 snaps while Woody Marks, who scored the only rushing touchdown, played in just 21 snaps.
Defense
There's really not much to report on defense. The main thing is veteran and former first-round pick Kenneth Murray replacing Azeez Al-Shaair. Despite playing in 82% of snaps. Rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz was expected to take over for Al-Shaair, but given the Texans' need to win now, the Clemson product only stepped in for 4% of snaps.
As for the depth, Sabastian Harsh ended up playing the fewest snaps, yet looked the most confident of the names outside of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. In his return, Jadeveon Clowney, who recorded a sack against Dak Prescott in the first quarter, played in 30 snaps.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans Week 4 snap counts: Who stepped up most in place of Azeez Al-Shaair in loss to Cowboys?
