*FAN SUBMISSION by Toby Kleyn of Boston, MA.*
Courtesy: Zimbio
BACKGROUND
The clash of Texas features two 3-1 teams that battle to succeed in their respective divisions. The Houston Texans are in the midst of recovering from an embarrassing 2-14 season in 2013, while the Dallas Cowboys are struggling to rebound from their 4th playoff-less season in a row. Well, it appears that both teams are already succeeding in their goal as they are both at the top of their competitive divisions, but come Sunday, there will only be one winner.
WHY THE HOUSTON TEXANS WILL WIN
With Arian Foster fighting a hamstring injury, the Texans will be forced to pass more, and what better time to do it, than against the 27th ranked pass defense in the NFL? The dots are there for Ryan Fitzpatrick to have a much-needed break out game, he just has to connect them. Fitzpatrick will be forced to throw more to the youngster in DeAndre Hopkins due to Andre Johnson’s questionable status after an ankle injury in week 4, but this may be a good thing for Houston. Hopkins has shined this season with 3 touchdowns in 4 games, but he has only had 18 receptions, so with Fitzpatrick (most-likely) targeting Hopkins more against the soft Dallas pass defense, there should be many holes that the NFL sophomore can capitalize on.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
WHY THE DALLAS COWBOYS WILL WIN
With one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys will be able to run right through the leaky Houston run defense, (ranked 25th in the NFL). The Cowboys offense will thrive in this Texan battle, and with Tony Romo coming off of a big 3 touchdown game in the win over the Saints, he should be able to shred the Texans 18th ranked pass defense apart with little pressure seeing that J.J Watt is fighting off an ankle injury, and the #1 overall pick in Jadeveon Clowney is still out with a knee injury. With a hamstring injury, Arian Foster will struggle against an underrated Dallas run defense, and although Fitzpatrick will put points on the board for Houston, those points will fall short of Dallas’s red hot offense.
MY PREDICTION: Dallas DEF. Houston 38 – 27
