HOUSTON (AP) CeeDee Lamb shined in his first NFL game in the city he calls his second home to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a victory Sunday.
Lamb had a career-high 17 catches for 189 yards and his 12-yard reception with 40 seconds left gave Dallas a 34-30 victory over Houston to keep the Houston Texans winless.
“I knew this one was big for him,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “I know how much Houston means to him and his family means to him. And he put on a show.”
Lamb was born in Louisiana and lived in New Orleans until moving to the Houston area after the city was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“My grandmother came here, which was really nice to see,” Lamb said. “She doesn’t really come to a lot of my games to do all the hooting and screaming. It was good to see my family here. It’s just been a long road to be in this situation and I’m grateful for it.”
Javonte Williams scored a career-high three touchdowns, all in the second half, to help the Cowboys earn the victory.
Dallas (2-2) trailed by 4 after a 6-yard touchdown run by Woody Marks with about 2 1/2 minutes left. The Texans were facing third-and-14 when a hook-and-ladder play featuring a 2-yard catch by Dalton Schultz and a 19-yard run by David Montgomery set up that score.
Dak Prescott then orchestrated an 11-play, 74-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion and capped it with the throw to Lamb to give the Cowboys the victory.
“As soon as the call was called,” Prescott said, “I knew it was a touchdown.”
The Texans (0-4) then had one last chance, but CJ Stroud’s desperate pass fell incomplete.
“Our guys moved the ball really well,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We just didn’t play well enough defensively and that’s a really bad feeling.”
Prescott threw for 335 yards and Stroud passed for 347 yards.
Nico Collins had seven receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns in his return after missing two games with a hamstring injury. But his big day wasn’t enough to put the Texans in the win column.
“It’s tough,” Collins said. “We’re 0-4 right now. You’ve got to move forward. See you next week, man. You can’t look back.”
The Cowboys took their first lead on Williams’ third score, a 2-yard run that made it 27-23 with about 11 minutes left.
Dallas cut the lead to 16-13 on an 8-yard run by Williams on the first drive of the third quarter. A 30-yard reception by Lamb set up the score.
The Texans had excellent field position on their next drive thanks to a 53-yard kickoff return by Jaylin Noel. Collins’ second score made it 23-13 with about 11 minutes left in the third.
George Pickens caught a 53-yard reception to Kamari Lassiter to bring the Cowboys to the 11-yard line afterward. Lassiter was flagged for pass interference on Pickens on third down to give Dallas a first down at the 1.
Jadeveon Clowney stuffed Williams for a 3 down on first down and the Cowboys couldn’t move the ball afterward to go up again on fourth down. Dallas went for it and a Lassiter holding penalty gave the Cowboys another first down at the 1.
Williams dove for the touchdown on the next play to cut the lead to 23-20 with seven minutes left in the third.
Collins had a 45-yard catch and run on Houston’s first play and made the score 7–0 when he capped the drive with a 7-yard TD reception.
Houston led by 4 when Will Anderson blocked Brandon Aubrey’s 62-yard field goal attempt about 4 1/2 minutes before halftime.
Kaʻimi Fairbairn’s 39-yard field goal on Houston’s next drive extended the lead to 13–6.
Aubrey’s 65-yard attempt with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter sailed wide left.
A 54-yard field goal by Fairbairn made the score 16-6 at halftime.
Houston: CB Jaylin Smith left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. … DT Jaden Crumedy injured his shoulder in the third quarter.
The Texans, now in their 25th season, celebrated their anniversary at halftime. Texans greats including Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, DeAndre Hopkins, Brian Cushing and Billy Miller, as well as former coach Gary Kubiak, were honored during the ceremony. JJ Watt was not present but recorded a message which was broadcast on the video boards.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. saw plenty of play in his Cowboys debut after being traded by the Steelers on Wednesday. It was his first action of the season after being inactive for the first three games while upset about his contract situation and dealing with a back problem.
“Man, the main thing I missed was playing football,” he said. “So the fact that I got out, that I got the dub with the guys, man, it’s a blessing.”
Cowboys: Host Tampa Bay on Thursday night.
Texans: Visit Tennessee next Sunday.
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