AP, ARLINGTON, Texas
Things were literally falling from the sky on Monday even before the Dallas Cowboys lost yet another home game.
The roof at AT&T Stadium can be fixed, but the problems plaguing the Cowboys this season, especially in their home building, maybe not after a 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans.
Dallas (3-7) are 0-5 at home for the first time since 1989, the first season Jerry Jones owned the Cowboys when they were 1-15 while not winning any of their eight games game at old Texas Stadium. They have lost six in a row at AT&T Stadium, including their playoff debacle against the Green Bay Packers in January.
The Houston Texans’ Joe Mixon dives for yardage over the Dallas Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs during their NFL game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.
Photo: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images, USA Today Sports
“In reality, it’s very frustrating. It’s frustrating for everybody, frustrating for players, frustrating for coaches,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “But we just, we have a lot of moving parts going on and we just have to be cleaner and more detailed in certain spots.”
An about 2m panel and some debris fell about 91m to the field when the retractable roof at the US$1.2 billion stadium was being opened at least three hours before the game. The 15-year-old stadium was mostly empty then, and team officials said nobody was injured before the roof was closed without incident.
Officials said winds gusting to 48kph during the day contributed to the incident, which was being reviewed to ensure the roof can be opened safely.
A worker on a catwalk performs maintenance on the roof of AT&T Stadium prior to an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.
Photo: AP
The roof of the venue, which is to host games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, had not been opened for a Cowboys game since the 2022 season.
Owner Jerry Jones said after the game that there was no risk in continuing the game, meaning that no postponement or delay was considered.
The falling debris came a little more than a week after Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb said the sun was in his eyes on a throw he did not react to in the end zone in a 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The stadium, built in 2009, has an unusual east-west alignment from end zone to end zone, as opposed to most venues being north-south. On clear days, the sun shines through the large glass windows on the west side during the first half of games that kick off in the afternoon.
There is usually a call for curtains on the west side of the stadium when the sun becomes an issue, but Jones has said he would not put up curtains. Both teams have to deal with the sun, he said.
Additional reporting by AFP
