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NFL · Week 4 · 2026 Final

Cowboys at Texans

Sun, 4 Oct 2026 · 17:00 UTC
Dallas Cowboys logo
Dallas
Cowboys
1-2 · L2
34
@
Houston Texans logo
Houston
Texans
0-3 · L3
30
Houston Texans to win 64% win probability · projected 22–27 · Solid

Result & Grading

Published before kickoff, graded after. No edits, no quiet deletions.

Final score
34–30
DAL at HOU
Our pick
HOU ✗
Missed
Margin error
8.8
points from our projection
Against the spread
Missed ✗
vs line of HOU −2.5

Pre-Game Win Probabilities

From the engine's power ratings, adjusted for home field and rest, then mapped through the margin distribution. Not a blend of the market — this is our own number.

DAL 36%
HOU 64%
Projected score
22–27
DAL at HOU
Projected margin
+4.8
home perspective
Projected total
49.2
combined points
Confidence
Solid
published before kickoff

Engine vs The Line

We agree with the market on the winner. The margins may still differ.

8th Day Engine
Houston Texans
by 4.8 points · total 49.2
Closing line
Houston Texans
by 2.5 points · total 47.5

Matchup Facts

Venue and rest come from the schedule feed and feed directly into the model; surface and weather are context we show but don't yet model.

Venue
Reliant Stadium
Roof
Closed
Surface
Astroturf
Rest · DAL
7 days
Rest · HOU
7 days
QB · DAL
Dak Prescott
QB · HOU
C.J. Stroud

Recent Form

Last five completed games this season, most recent first.

Dallas Cowboys

L vs BAL 31–34
W vs WAS 37–20
L @ NYG 20–28

Houston Texans

L @ IND 17–19
L vs CIN 6–20
L vs BUF 31–36

Season Scoring

Points per game either side of the ball, 2026 season to date.

DAL · scored
29.3
per game · 3 played
DAL · allowed
27.3
per game
HOU · scored
18.0
per game · 3 played
HOU · allowed
25.0
per game

How The Model Sees It

Our rating has Houston Texans as the stronger side by 84 rating points, which on its own is worth about 3.4 points on the scoreboard (DAL 1,440, HOU 1,524).

Home field adds 1.4 points to HOU — a measured figure from our backtest, not the traditional three, because home advantage in the modern NFL is considerably smaller than it used to be.

That lands on a projected margin of +4.8, and running that through the historical spread of actual results against projections gives Houston Texans at 64%.

The closing line agrees on the winner, making Houston Texans favourite by 2.5 against our 4.8.

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