Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterNov 19, 2024, 06:12 PM ET
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Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.
The metal sheet that fell to the surface of AT&T Stadium before Monday night’s Dallas Cowboys-Houston Texans game was a covering lid to a cable tray, and crews determined there were no structural issues, a city of Arlington spokeswoman told ESPN on Tuesday.
Communications coordinator Susan Schrock said the city, which owns the stadium, considered the matter closed and “no further inspection was needed.”
There were no injuries when the piece of metal fell. The Cowboys said in a statement a wind gust blew off the cable tray lid while the roof was opening over two hours before kickoff.
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“Our building inspector and our deputy fire marshal did talk to AT&T Stadium crews today and determined that there weren’t any structural issues with the venue or the roof,” Schrock said. “And that this was in fact just a piece of metal that was a covering lid to one of these cable trays that was blown off by a gust of wind.”
Schrock also said the Cowboys told the city they did additional reviews and work to “further secure the covering lids for those cable trays.”
Schrock said she was not sure when the trays were last inspected.
The last time the Cowboys opened the roof of their 15-year-old stadium for a game was Oct. 30, 2022.
ESPN reporter Todd Archer contributed to this report.
DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show, “Talkin’ Texans.”
Todd Archer
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Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
Nov 18, 2024, 11:49 PM ET
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Houston Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-10 at AT&T Stadium for the first time in franchise history Monday and snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Texans were fueled by running back Joe Mixon’s three rushing touchdowns and 109 rushing yards.
They jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and their defense carried them for the rest of the game. Houston sacked Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush five times, intercepted him once and scored a touchdown on a strip sack.
The win puts the Texans two games ahead of the Indianapolis Colts, whom they have already beaten twice, in the AFC South, and their next two games are against the two-win Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:
AP Photo/Jerome Miron
Pivotal play: The defense put the game away in an unusual way early in the fourth quarter. Defensive end AP Photo/Jerome Miron
DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show, “Talkin’ Texans.”
HOUSTON — Nico Collins knows what’s at stake as he’s set to make his much-anticipated return to the football field after missing five games with a right hamstring injury.
Playing on prime time also gives him a “great opportunity” to remind the world what type of receiver he was before the injury.
“[I] got to go out there and take advantage of my opportunities,” Collins said. “In order to pick back up, I got to ball out when the ball touches my hands. When the ball is in the air, I have to do something with it.”
Coming into Week 11, quarterbacks against the Cowboys are averaging the second-highest passer rating (105.1) in the NFL, and they are allowing 210 passing yards per game (17th). They also allow 362.9 total yards per game (26th) and 28.8 points per game (second most).
But as much as Collins’ return to the field will be appreciated by his teammates, his absence taught him to appreciate his opportunities.
“You don’t know when it’s going to be your last game, you don’t know what it is,” Collins told ESPN. “I came out there strong the first four weeks, then boom [injured], out of nowhere. Now I’m missing time, just realizing this s— is not for long. You have to do whatever you can to give it your all.”
Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s feet are up as he begins the meeting.
He starts with going over the running game and then moves on to the passing plays, asking the position groups and individual players what plays they would like — and not like — to see called in the game ahead. Allen records notes from the meeting and passes along the plays discussed to offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
The same meeting takes place every Friday after practice. Allen has led it since Brady instituted the meeting when he took over as interim offensive coordinator in Week 11 of the 2023 season. The offense-only meetings, which are not typically lengthy and described by players as “super chill,” take place about 15 minutes after practice comes to a close.
The meeting helps create open dialogue for players to express what plays they like and don’t like, and facilitates conversation between position groups.
“It’s nice, because other things like, say the tight ends don’t like something like, ‘Hey, why don’t you like it? Oh, didn’t think about it that way. That makes sense. Let’s throw it out,'” center Connor McGovern said.
That approach from Brady and Allen encourages buy-in on the offense, across the board, and allows input from players on what’s called during games.
Rookie running back Ray Davis compared the meetings to a band getting together and figuring which songs they like to play.
Players have also progressed to texting Brady if there are specific things they like, or will note them to him during practices.
“I think a lot of it’s ownership, guys taking accountability,” Allen said. “If I told Joe that I want this play and he calls it, I got to go and make it work because we’re putting ourselves on the line there in terms of him trusting us. And as long as we keep executing some of the plays that we like, he’s going to keep calling them. … Joe always talks about the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.”
“If I told Joe [Brady] that I want this play and he calls it, I got to go and make it work because we’re putting ourselves on the line there in terms of him trusting us,” says Bills QB Josh Allen. AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes
And this offense is certainly doing more. The Bills are off to an 8-2 start, the team’s best since 1993, while Allen has put together a commanding performance behind a consistent offensive line. He’s also getting help in ways he hasn’t before with the highest yards after catch per reception through 10 games (6.7) of his career and Allen is unusually not the team’s leader in rushing touchdowns (
TE Dawson Knox play choice
Week 8, Bills at Seahawks: 13:58 | First quarter | First-and-10 | BUF 10 | 0-0
Play result: Allen to Knox for 23-yard gain
pic.twitter.com/yDC2exymP7
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) November 12, 2024
“The play we opened with was one that I wanted to advocate for, which was a 100% Joe Brady’s scheme,” TE Dawson Knox said. “He wanted it called the first play. Josh did a great job alerting it, but I wanted it called because I thought it was a great look, great scheme by [Brady] and thankful we got the call.”
Knox said that when he’s deciding to advocate for a certain play, he looks for: if it worked in practice; if he thinks they’ll get the right look from the defense and; if it features the tight ends.
This was the first offensive play called for the Bills against the Seahawks in Week 8.
McGovern said that as soon as Allen sits down in the weekly meeting, he says, “‘Alright, Connor, Dave [left guard David Edwards], I know you want goalie to start with.'” The play is a mid-zone to the left. McGovern also said that Brady approached him on the plane to Seattle to ask about what he wanted to see run, but before he could even answer, the coordinator already knew.
“It’s a good way to see the defense, how they’re going to be playing it, and then if we could get that going, then that gets the play-action game going,” McGovern said. “So, earlier we get that started, other things get opened up.”
They did run it early in Seattle, and McGovern said it went perfectly in the midst of what ended up as a 14-play opening scoring drive.
QB Josh Allen play choice
Week 8, Bills at Seahawks: 1:08 | Second quarter | Third-and-3 | SEA 36 | 7-3 Buffalo lead
Play result: Allen rush for nine yards. Drive result was a touchdown pass to TE Dalton Kincaid.
pic.twitter.com/aCsGZzjqyw
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) November 12, 2024
“Third down, third and short. There was a timeout. Go over to the sideline. I told them a play that I wanted, and he called it, and it worked out, and it’s fulfilling for me that it worked. But for [Brady], too, it’s like ‘All right, I trust this guy in what he’s seeing.’ And to have a healthy relationship like that with your OC and he trusts you like that, it’s a dang good feeling.”
In some cases, Allen will communicate on the sideline plays that he thinks are good to run during the game. Sometimes that happens during timeouts with quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry often a go-between on the sideline, while Brady is in the booth.
“There’s a lot of times as I’m communicating down to [Curry], … ‘Josh, any thoughts from Josh,’ or ‘Hey, what’s he thinking?”’ Brady said. “And there might be a timeout, and he goes to the sideline, and he tells RC, ‘Hey, give me this. Hey, bring this up to Joe.'”
