nearly as close as the score Sometimes after a loss Color Rush Brett Maher Jersey , a look at the stats can bring up some bright spots, things to build on going forward. But if you are looking for those about the Dallas Cowboys in their overtime loss to the Houston Texans, well, too bad. The score says it was close. The numbers say that Dallas was roundly and soundly beaten.Here’s a dig into the stats to show you what I mean.170 total yards differentialThat’s how much the Texans out-gained the Cowboys by, 462 to 292. To put it in a little more perspective, Houston gained 158% of the yards Dallas did. And it was almost all in the passing game. Dak Prescott put up another clunker, only throwing for a net of 194, while Deshaun Watson was putting up 374. In terms of yards gained per offensive snap, the edge went to the Texans 6.1 to 4.9. Their offensive domination is starkly clear.Had it not been for Bill O’Brien making a couple of decisions that rivaled Jason Garrett’s failure to go for it in overtime, plus some clutch defensive plays at crucial moments, this could easily have been a two score defeat or worse for the Cowboys. 25 to 14This is the first downs, which is right in line with the total yards. Breaking those down, while Dallas had six rushing and eight passing, Houston was predominately doing things the way most NFL teams do it in the 21st century, gaining 18 first downs through the air. Oh, and just to help them along, Dallas gifted them three first downs through penalties. 20 for 54As in carries and yards gained for Ezekiel Elliott, for a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. The Texans came in with a plan to take the ground game away and then attack Prescott when he dropped back to pass, and it worked almost perfectly. Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan still believe that they can succeed with a run-oriented attack. That is partly driven by the limitations that the passing game has. But if an opponent can slow Elliott down the way Houston did, then this is the kind of game you can expect. Making things worse http://www.authenticsdallascowboys.com/cheap-la_el-collins-jersey , there may not be a way to fix this before the season is over. They have to roll with Prescott, and there isn’t any help at receiver coming, either. Depressing, isn’t it?10 quarterback hitsThat’s a lot of blows to the passer. But it’s not how many time Prescott was knocked down. It is how many times Watson was, usually as he was completing another pass for a first down, or at least it seemed. The problem is that the Cowboys could not turn those into sacks (they were credited with one on the play where Jaylon Smith, one of the few standouts for the Cowboys, stopped Watson on fourth and goal). Watson didn’t have a lot of time back there and was under some pretty constant pressure himself. He was just able to overcome it to keep his team alive far more often. He had a 75% completion rate compared to Prescott’s 62%, The pressure got to Dak, but Deshaun largely shrugged it off.One bit of praise for a member of the Cowboys here. DT Daniel Ross was credited with half the hits on Watson. He has been doing a great job, but the rushmen as a whole have to do much better. One of the great frustrations for us is how suspect offensive lines always seem to find a way to play like a bunch of Pro Bowlers when they line up against Dallas.4 of 14 (29%)Another bad third-down efficiency for Dallas, which continues the dismal trend that has plagued them all season. They did manage to score a touchdown on their two trips to the red zone, but the fact it was only two trips was the real problem. 6 for 16Here are the completions and targets for all wide receivers. It is simply pitiful. The blame is on just about everyone, the quarterback who had too many off-target throws, the receivers who dropped too many chances when the ball did get to them, and Linehan, who didn’t have a way to get more out of his admittedly limited weapons. While we’re at it, let’s also dump a bit on the GM and the members of his staff who came up with this wide receiver by committee mess. The committee is obviously way too light on talent and ability.25As noted, there just isn’t much good for Dallas this game, but just to offer a faint ray of hope Color Rush Jaylon Smith Jersey , that is the combined tackles by Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith. With Sean Lee out, they have proven that they are more than able to step up and carry the load.But the overall picture is grim. The combination of stats makes it clear that the final score of the game was deceptive. It wasn’t really that close. The Cowboys had no right to even get it to overtime. Unless they can come up with some answers fast, this season is going to go downhill in a hurry. Richard Sherman has been around the NFL long enough that playing in exhibition games might not seem to be of critical importance.But after going more than nine months without game action following a season-ending Achilles tendon injury and joining a new team with the San Francisco 49ers, Sherman is eager to get back on the field.He said Wednesday he plans to play in San Francisco's exhibition game at Indianapolis on Saturday in his first action for the 49ers at cornerback after spending his first seven seasons playing for NFC West rival Seattle."It's important just for a defensive continuity standpoint, just knowing where people are going to be on game day," he said. "You don't want the first time you deal with communicating with somebody else be with live bullets out there. You want to be out there and get the communication down if someone isn't listening or looking and get those tweaks out of the way."Sherman had hoped to play earlier this preseason as he worked his way back from the Achilles tendon injury, but he strained his hamstring early in training camp.Sherman felt ready to play last week, but coach Kyle Shanahan held him out to be cautious. Sherman took time after joint practices last week in Houston to get extra work against Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins and has no worries about his health now."I'm not really concerned with how that will respond," he said. "I'm more concerned about my game shape and making sure I can still go every single play because I haven't played (since November)."Sherman has faced questions about what kind of player he can be at age 30 coming off a significant injury that led to his release by the Seahawks. Those only grew louder during the opening week of training camp when video came out of Sherman getting badly beaten deep by sprinter Marquise Goodwin. Coach Kyle Shanahan used that video as a teaching tool, praising Sherman to the rest of the team for his aggressiveness and willingness to test out his injured leg against one of the faster receivers in the league during practice.Sherman said wasn't bothered by outside criticism and appreciated Shanahan's support, comparing practice to writing a "rough draft" and saying his product will be polished by the time games start next month."You're allowed to make mistakes in practice," he said. "You're allowed to get beat and stumble, because then you figure out what works and what doesn't work. If you find something that works you keep using it and put it into your bag for game day."Sherman also criticized the NFL's new rule that prohibits players from lowering the helmet to make contact anywhere on an opponent. The 49ers have been called for three personal fouls through two preseason games for violating the rule."It's an idiotic rule so there's no need to go down that road," Sherman said when asked if he understood the rule. "There's no way you can tackle and play football. I could tackle like that if I was standing still, got on my knees, no one was moving and I was tackling bags or something. But to ask you to do that at full speed?"NOTES: The 49ers signed DT Chris Jones to a one-year deal. Jones started the final six games of 2016 for San Francisco before spending last year on IR. ... Jones takes the place on the roster of DL Cedric Thornton, who announced his retirement at age 30.
