I can count the good things coming out of the Houston game on one hand and still have a few fingers left over. Kevin Burnett had a pretty good game. And Wade Phillips will have plenty of ammunition for a good pep talk. And that’s about it.

The offensive line played poorly opening few holes for the running game and putting Romo in a few bad situations. When he wasn’t dodging potential sacks, Romo was a bit erratic, ending his night on a very underthrown ball that landed in the wrong team’s hands. And Martin Gramatica might have made cutting the roster down to 53 players a little easier on the coaching staff by missing an extra point.

After two strong performances, the Cowboys played a sloppy game demonstrating that it is perhaps a little too early to anoint them as the future Super Bowl champs.

But, it is just preseason, and even a loss can be a positive thing. Certainly, if the Cowboys thought they could ride into the season taking it easy against some of the less-talented teams they got a big wakeup call tonight.

For their part, the Texans looked good. They played like they were competing for a playoff spot with their defense looking more at times like the Chicago Bears than the Houston Texans.

The real question is which Dallas Cowboys will show up to play the New York Giants in the Sunday night season opener: the sharp crew that took care of the Colts and the Broncos, or the group unable to get their hands around the Texans?