FC Dallas will attempt to build on an emotional win over an in-state rival when they visit Western Conference-leading St. Louis City on Wednesday.
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FC Dallas (9-9-6, 33 points) moved into eighth place in the West by defeating Austin FC 1-0 on Saturday on defender Nkosi Tafari’s winning header in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
Tafari entered this season with one career goal in 49 matches (32 starts) for Dallas. He has started 19 of his 21 appearances in 2023 and has tallied three goals while completing 83.1 percent of his passes.
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In his postgame press conference, FC Dallas coach Nico Estevez said Tafari’s growth as a player is a point of pride.
“‘You have to believe in yourself and you have to want to be one of the best center backs in the league,’” Estevez said he told Tafari. “… And I think he understood the message and he has been great so far.”
FC Dallas are 7-3-2 at home this season but are 2-6-4 on the road. They will be up against a St. Louis side that is 9-3-1 at home.
“They’re a big threat,” St. Louis coach Bradley Carnell said of Dallas. “They get a good win now in injury time against Austin. Yeah, to be reckoned with, for sure. And this is important for us, how we put teams under pressure at home, how we dominate at home.”
St. Louis (14-9-2, 44 points) has played twice since MLS play resumed after the Leagues Cup. The expansion club throttled Austin FC 6-3 at home on Aug. 20 but dropped a 2-1 decision at Orlando City on Saturday.
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Rasmus Alm tied the match for St. Louis City in the 78th minute, but Facundo Torres converted a penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for Orlando.
St. Louis City forward Joao Klauss (five goals, four assists) returned Saturday from a four-month absence due to a quad injury. St. Louis’ leading scorer Nicholas Gioacchini (10 goals) picked up a shoulder injury against Orlando, but it turned out to be minor and Carnell didn’t rule him out for Wednesday.
The first meeting between these teams was suspended in the 50th minute due to inclement weather in Frisco, Texas. The match resumed on June 7, and Jesus Ferreira and Marco Farfan scored in the final 10 minutes for a 2-0 Dallas victory.
Every other year, the Aurora Biennial transforms Dallas into a dazzling display of lights, video and music. This year was special because it was the first time the event took play in-person since 2018. The free public event turned the Dallas Public Library, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas City Hall and other buildings into art installations with the theme “FuturePresentPast.”
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Joe Mixon ran for three touchdowns to extend his TD streak to six games since coming back from injury, Derek Barnett returned a fumble 28 yards for a score, and the Texans beat the Cowboys 34-10 on Monday night.
The Texans (7-4) stopped just the second two-game losing streak of CJ Stroud’s young career while maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC South.
Houston pulled away in the second-half a week after a 26-23 last-play loss to Detroit at home, when the Texans let a 23-7 half-time lead get away from them.
“It’s not as bad as it ever seems, and it’s never as good as it ever seems,” Stroud said. “Those type of games, you have to come out with a win, especially going up like that at the half [against the Lions]. But what are we going to do about it?”
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Amid a woeful season for the Cowboys (3-7) on the field, debris fell from their stadium’s retractable roof as it was opening a few hours before the game. There was no delay and no injuries were reported, just another mishap to foreshadow a fifth consecutive defeat for a team that lost five games total in each of the past three seasons.
Cooper Rush threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin but lost his second start since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury.
The Dallas losing streak is their longest since a seven-game skid in 2015, and the Cowboys dropped to 0-5 at home. Dallas are the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 20 points in six consecutive home games, including last season’s wildcard playoff loss to Green Bay, according to Sportradar. The Cowboys had reached the playoffs in each of their previous three seasons, but that run is all but over.
“Well, they better be frustrated,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I mean, we’re all frustrated. I think there’d be something wrong if they weren’t frustrated. So just very honest with everything and stay in tune with what’s right in front of us. And that’s the only way I’ve ever done it.”
The Cowboys were down 20-10 early in the fourth quarter when Barnett knocked the ball out of Rush’s hand. Dallas rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton caught it and was trying to run when Jalen Pitre knocked the ball loose again. Barnett scooped up the ball and scored, although he almost stepped out of bounds.
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“The play he made really changed for game for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It flipped the momentum. It got everybody juiced up on the sideline. It was just a huge play.”
Earlier, the Cowboys appeared to have pulled within a touchdown on a 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey, but Barnett was penalized for slapping Terence Steele on the rush. Dallas erased the points by taking the penalty, but Rush’s fourth-down pass from the Houston eight-yard line was incomplete on the only good scoring chance of the second half for the the Cowboys.
“The defense played with elite energy,” Ryans said. “One big play that we gave up. Like to have that one back, but overall I think our guys played really well.”
Texans receiver Nico Collins returned after missing five games with a hamstring injury and took a screen pass 77 yards to the end zone on the first play of the game, only to have it called back because of an ineligible receiver downfield.
That possession ended with a touchdown anyway on Mixon’s 45-yard sprint up the middle, and he ran wide for a one-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Mixon had 109 yards rushing on the day and set up a field goal with a 37-yard catch-and-run on a screen.
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“I really love that first play because it showed what we could do in this game,” Ryans said. “Even though it got called back, I just told all our guys, ‘We can go score on these guys again. Just get it in your mind we’re going to score again.’”
Already without Prescott, the Cowboys lost tight end Jake Ferguson to a concussion and perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith to ankle injuries. Rush was sacked five times, three on the same possession when Martin and Smith were injured.
Stroud, who has been in a mini-slump, threw for 257 yards while avoiding any mistakes after an early interception on fourth down. It was the third time in five games he has gone without a touchdown pass, and he has two TDs and three picks in that stretch.
Rush was 32 of 55 for 354 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Turpin had three catches for 86 yards.
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