John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.
When I think about the Texans and Cowboys and their Monday night game at AT&T Stadium, the first thing that comes to mind is Sept. 8, 2002, the first game in franchise history.
With the final seconds ticking off the clock in a prime-time game at what was then the new Reliant Stadium, the Texans led 19-10. I was standing on the Texans' sideline with owner Bob McNair, his son, current Texans Chair/CEO Cal McNair, and Chuck Watson, one of their minor partners. The noise from a crowd of 69,604 was deafening as the fans celebrated the upset victory.
When McNair looked across the field at the Cowboys' sideline, he saw owner Jerry Jones and Head Coach Dave Campo bent over, heads down with their hands on their knees, frustrated and dejected after being an 8.5-point favorite and about to lose by nine in this historic game that was televised nationally.
McNair wore a huge smile as he accepted congratulations from those around him. In a section behind McNair, fans began to chant, "Thank you, Bob! Thank you, Bob!"
The chant quickly spread to other sections and then reached a crescendo as fans who filled the stadium continued to chant, "Thank you, Bob! Thank you, Bob!" I asked McNair if he was listening, and he nodded with tears running down his face.
That victory over the Cowboys was the culmination of McNair's mission to return the NFL to Houston after the Oilers moved to Tennessee. There was some irony in the result because McNair knew he might not have been able to pull it off without Jones' help.
While McNair was trying to win the expansion franchise over Los Angeles – the city the NFL wanted to select – Jones was lobbying the owners to vote for Houston. Jones thought McNair would be an ideal owner, and it would be good for Texas to again have two franchises in the Lone Star State.
After Houston was awarded the expansion franchise in October of 1999, McNair told me there were only two people among the owners and NFL executives who had consistently told him the truth during his bid to get the team – Jones and Carolina's Jerry Richardson, chairman of the expansion committee.
Jones' support was vital to McNair winning the expansion franchise. Jones' reward was the Cowboys being the Texans' first opponent in what should have been a Dallas victory. Instead, Jones got embarrassed.
Janice McNair and her family knew what Jones meant to Bob McNair. When the Texans' founder died from cancer in November of 2018, they invited Jones to be among those who provided eulogies. When Bob McNair was given the Lifetime Achievement honor at the Houston Sports Awards two years later, Jones came to Houston to present the award to his family.
Interestingly, Janice McNair is this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, meaning she and Bob are the first husband and wife to be honored by the Houston Sports Awards.
"I have great respect and admiration for Bob, not only because he was such a great owner who always wanted what was best for the league, but because he and Janice have given so much to Houston, the state of Texas and other parts of the country," Jones said. "They've been so good for the league. They've been held in such high regard by the NFL ever since Bob began his pursuit of a franchise, and the league got to know them. Having Bob McNair as a partner was a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned."
And Jones' reward was getting embarrassed in the first game in Texans' history, but, of course, he never held it against them.
The second thing I remember most about the Texans and Cowboys was Oct. 5, 2014 when their game was played at Arlington. The Texans were 3-1 in Head Coach Bill O'Brien's first season that ended with a 9-7 record. The Cowboys were 3-1 and on their way to a 12-4 record and playoff victory over Detroit and a loss at Green Bay in the divisional round.
A crowd of 91,159 showed up at AT&T Stadium. So many Texans' fans bought tickets and made so much noise that quarterback Tony Romo had to use a silent count when the Cowboys had the ball. Unfortunately for the Texans, the Cowboys won 20-17 in overtime when Dan Bailey kicked a 49-yard field goal.
Last week, Head Coach DeMeco Ryans was asked what it would be like for the Texans on Monday night to have the same kind of support they received from their fans in that 2014 game.
"That would mean everything to us if we can get our fans' support and we can cause some havoc for them," he said. "If our fans show up like that, that would be outstanding.
"I know our guys would be very appreciative of that. We've seen that a couple of times in our stadium where the opposing fans have shown up and shown out and been loud. For us to do that on the road, we'd really appreciate that from our fans."
During his six years playing linebacker for the Texans, Ryans lost to the Cowboys 34-6 in 2006 and 27-13 in 2010. In his four seasons with Philadelphia, the Eagles were 3-5 against the Cowboys.
"No advantage from (me) playing there," he said. "We're just looking for a really cool atmosphere. I think it's one of the coolest stadiums to play in -- how large the stadium is, the (scoreboard) in the middle. It's just a lot of cool features you don't see everywhere.
"It'll be a lot of our guys' first time going there. We expect to see some good support from our fans, as well. Our guys will embrace the environment. It's all about playing well in that place. If our guys execute well, it'll be a really cool place to play."
The Texans are favored by 6.5 points, despite losing three of their last four games, including the last two.
"We're hungry and excited about getting a win," Ryans said. "I know it means a lot to our fans, but for us, it means a lot because it's the next one."
And it'll mean a lot to the McNair family. Not only do they want the Texans to win and increase their record to 7-4, of course, but it would also be special to beat Jones again.
