Culley aggressive on fourth

ARLINGTON — Texans coach David Culley said last week he was going to be more aggressive going for it on fourth down when the offense was in short-yardage situations, and he held true to his strategy against the Cowboys.

The aggressiveness produced mixed results: the Texans converted one of their two fourth-down opportunities in the first half.

On the first drive of the game, Culley kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys 14. Mark Ingram picked up the first down on a 2-yard run directly behind right guard Max Scharping. Three plays later, Ingram scored on a 2-yard run to set the Texans up 7-0 with 11:12 left in the first quarter.

Then, in the second quarter, Phillip Lindsay was stuffed for a loss of a yard on a fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys 36.

Culley addressed his fourth down strategy after the Texans failed to score touchdowns in red-zone situations during their 26-7 victory against the Packers in the preseason opener. Ka’imi Fairbairn made all four of his field goals in Green Bay, each of them within the Packers 25.

Most notably, Culley elected to kick a field goal on the opening drive, after David Johnson was stuffed on a third-and-1, which forced a long fourth-and-2 at the

Packers’ 19.

“We were going to go for it,” Culley said later. “Not getting that one yard right there is just something we’ve got to be able to do, because this football team’s going to be identified by what happens up front with this offensive and defensive line. That was a situation right there where we didn’t want to kick a field goal. We wanted to go for it on two downs if we had gotten one yard there. We just got to be more consistent there. We’ve got to work on that more.”

Culley said any time the Texans’ offense crosses midfield and has an opportunity to keep a drive going, “we’re going to put it on our outfront people, and we’re going to give them the opportunity to get the first down in those situations.”

More available starters play against Dallas

Culley said every available player was expected to play against the Cowboys, and, indeed, more starters played in Dallas.

Tyrod Taylor started at quarterback and was 2-for-5 passing for 10 yards in his three drives.

Ingram, an 11-year veteran who played with Culley in Baltimore, started at running back.

Brandin Cooks, Keke Coutee and Chris Conley were the starting receivers, and Pharaoh Brown started at tight end.

On the offensive line, Geron Christian started at left tackle, Tytus Howard at left guard, Justin Britt at center, Scharping at right guard, and Charlie Heck at right tackle.

Howard was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday. Starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil, the team’s best player, remains on the list after testing positive.

Whitney Mercilus and Charles Omenihu started at defensive end,

while Vincent Taylor and Maliek Collins started at defensive tackle.

Zach Cunningham and Christian Kirksey were the starting linebackers. Desmond King started at slot corner, with Bradley Roby and Terrance Mitchell starting at cornerback. Justin Reid and Eric Murray started at safety.

Receiver Collins sits with muscle pull

Texans rookie wide receiver Nico Collins was held out of the team’s second preseason game against the Cowboys Saturday night due to a muscle pull, Culley said.

Culley said Collins, a third-round pick from Michigan, “will be fine.” The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Collins had one catch for 24 yards in his professional debut against Green Bay in the preseason opener.