Wk 4 · 2026
Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans — Sun, Oct 4
Sun, Oct 4 ·
Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
· FOX
Weather
This one is played indoors. There is nothing to forecast.
NFC East · no games yet
at
1:00pET
HOU -2.5 · total 47.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential HOU by 2.9
AFC South · no games yet
What is at stake
An interconference game, NFC against AFC. It counts in both overall records — which is what seeding is settled on first — and in neither team’s division or conference record.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The Gridiron King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
1.7 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two rosters that have
been through a draft and a free-agency window since.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense
Defense
Points / game
Points allowed / game
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The Gridiron King’s 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats
The box-score store these rows are built from has not been produced for this league yet, so no preview carries points and yards for and against. The form, trend and series blocks below are built from this site’s own files and are not affected.
Cowboys form
No completed games on record.
Texans form
No completed games on record.
Cowboys this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Texans this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 8
| Opponent | Cowboys | Texans |
|---|---|---|
| Giants NFC | at Wk 1 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
| Commanders NFC | vs Wk 2 · scheduled preview | at Wk 14 · scheduled preview |
| Ravens AFC | N Wk 3 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 12 · scheduled preview |
| Packers NFC | at Wk 6 · scheduled preview | at Wk 17 · scheduled preview |
| Eagles NFC | at Wk 7 · scheduled preview | at Wk 16 · scheduled preview |
| Colts AFC | at Wk 9 · scheduled preview | at Wk 3 · scheduled preview |
| Titans AFC | vs Wk 11 · scheduled preview | at Wk 5 · scheduled preview |
| Jaguars AFC | vs Wk 16 · scheduled preview | N Wk 6 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Cowboys leads 4–2 · Texans won the last one
6 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
3.7 points toward Cowboys
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-11-18 | Texans 34 — 10 Cowboys | at DAL | Texans |
| 2022 | 2022-12-11 | Texans 23 — 27 Cowboys | at DAL | Cowboys |
| 2018 | 2018-10-07 | Cowboys 16 — 19 Texans | at HOU | Texans |
| 2014 | 2014-10-05 | Texans 17 — 20 Cowboys | at DAL | Cowboys |
| 2010 | 2010-09-26 | Cowboys 27 — 13 Texans | at HOU | Cowboys |
| 2006 | 2006-10-15 | Texans 6 — 34 Cowboys | at DAL | Cowboys |
Cowboys leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Dak Prescott QB #4 | 404/600, 4552 YDS, 30 TD, 10 INT |
| Joe Milton III QB #10 | 15/24, 183 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Javonte Williams RB #33 | 252 CAR, 1201 YDS, 11 TD |
| Malik Davis RB #20 | 52 CAR, 250 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Dak Prescott QB #4 | 53 CAR, 177 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | George Pickens WR #3 | 93 REC, 1429 YDS, 9 TD |
| CeeDee Lamb WR #88 | 75 REC, 1077 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Jake Ferguson TE #87 | 82 REC, 600 YDS, 8 TD | |
| Ryan Flournoy WR #19 | 40 REC, 475 YDS, 4 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Shemar James LB #50 | 91 |
| Kenneth Murray Jr. LB #59 | 81 | |
| DaRon Bland CB #26 | 73 | |
| Sacks | Jadeveon Clowney DE #90 | 8.5 |
| James Houston LB #53 | 5.5 | |
| Osa Odighizuwa DT #92 | 3.5 | |
| Interceptions | Donovan Wilson S #6 | 2 |
| Quinnen Williams DT #92 | 1 | |
| Markquese Bell S #14 | 1 |
Texans leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | C.J. Stroud QB #7 | 273/423, 3041 YDS, 19 TD, 8 INT |
| Davis Mills QB #10 | 91/159, 915 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Woody Marks RB #4 | 196 CAR, 703 YDS, 2 TD |
| Nick Chubb RB #21 | 122 CAR, 506 YDS, 3 TD | |
| C.J. Stroud QB #7 | 48 CAR, 209 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Nico Collins WR #12 | 71 REC, 1117 YDS, 6 TD |
| Dalton Schultz TE #86 | 82 REC, 777 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Jayden Higgins WR #81 | 41 REC, 525 YDS, 6 TD | |
| Xavier Hutchinson WR #19 | 35 REC, 428 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Azeez Al-Shaair LB #0 | 103 |
| Henry To'oTo'o LB #39 | 95 | |
| Kamari Lassiter CB #3 | 91 | |
| Sacks | Danielle Hunter DE #55 | 15 |
| Will Anderson Jr. DE #51 | 12 | |
| Derek Barnett DE | 5 | |
| Interceptions | Jalen Pitre S #5 | 4 |
| Derek Stingley Jr. CB #24 | 4 | |
| Calen Bullock S #2 | 4 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since signed elsewhere, been traded or retired still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game.