Governor's Cup (Texas)

Governor's Cup (Texas)
	Dallas Cowboys Houston Texans
First meeting	1965
Latest meeting	August 24, 2019; Cowboys 34, Texans 0
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
All-time series	Overall: Series Tied 8-8; Regular season: Cowboys lead Texans, 3–2; Preseason: Texans lead Cowboys, 6–5; Cowboys lead Oilers, 18–13;
Largest victory	Cowboys (over Texans): 34–0 (August 24, 2019);
Current win streak	Cowboys: 1 win ( 0 reg, 1 pre);

The Texas Governor's Cup (also known as the Cowboys–Texans rivalry, Battle of Texas, formerly the Cowboys–Oilers rivalry) is the trophy awarded to the winner of the football game between the two National Football League (NFL) teams in Texas, currently the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans. Prior to the Texans' inaugural season in 2002 the Cowboys' opponent was the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans). In 1991, after 13 straight games at the Cowboys' Texas Stadium, the Cowboys and Oilers went to a home-and-away format for the preseason and this format more or less continues to this day for the games between the Cowboys and Texans.[1][2]

Since the first meeting between the Cowboys and Texans in 2002, the two teams have met in the regular season every fourth year and meet relatively often (by NFL standards) in the preseason; from 2002 until 2008 and again since 2013, the Cowboys and Texans have been scheduled to play each other in the preseason whenever they are not scheduled to meet in the regular season. In 2010, the teams played both a pre-season and regular season game while in 2009, 2011 and 2012 they did not meet at all. The 2017 preseason game, scheduled to be played in Houston, was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey. In 2018, the teams played both a pre-season and regular season game once again, marking the first time that this instance of two games in one year had happened since 2010.

History

Preseason game between the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on August 24, 2019

The two cities of Houston and Dallas have a rivalry that goes way back before the team's founding. Both became the two largest cities in Texas, with Dallas being known for having wealthy elites of the Texas oil and gas industry in the early 20th century, while Houston was known for being a working-class city with the lower-tier workers working in making oil pipelines during the Texas boom.

In 1960, the NFL established the Dallas Cowboys, mainly as an effort to cut off the American Football League (AFL)'s Dallas Texans. (The cutoff effort was only a partial success, as the Texans were forced to move to become the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963, but the AFL itself would thrive and eventually merge into the NFL in 1970.) The AFL would be the first league to place a professional team in Houston, and though the Houston Oilers and the Texans were in opposite divisions, they quickly became rivals. Their rivalry culminated in a double-overtime 1962 American Football League Championship Game that the Texans, in their last game in that identity, won, preventing an Oilers threepeat.

In 1965, the AFL's Houston Oilers and NFL's Dallas Cowboys both drafted Oklahoma tackle Ralph Neely. The Oilers sued the Cowboys over Neely's services. In the settlement of the case, the Oilers received three Cowboys draft picks in addition to a cash settlement. The Cowboys also agreed to play five preseason games, three in Houston, against the Oilers. Thus began the Governor's Cup series, a Texas tradition created by franchise free agency.[3]

In 1992 the Cowboys and Oilers met twice in the preseason. The first game took place in Tokyo as part of the NFL's American Bowl series, and the second meeting in Dallas for the Governor's Cup.

The 1994 Governor's Cup was not actually played in Texas but in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca as part of the American Bowl series. As a result of Estadio Azteca's unusually large seating capacity, a league record 112,246 fans watched the Oilers shut out the Cowboys, 6–0 on August 13, 1994.[4]

From 1997 to 2001 there were no Governor's Cup games played. This was because the Oilers moved to Tennessee after the 1996 season and the Texans did not enter the NFL as an expansion team until 2002, leaving the Cowboys as the lone team in Texas for five straight seasons.

The only other professional football league to feature teams from Dallas and Houston at the same time is the 2020 incarnation of the XFL, which established the Dallas Renegades and Houston Roughnecks.

Governor's Cup win/loss to 1996

Up to the 1996 season, the Dallas Cowboys had won 18 of 31 Governor's Cup meetings leaving the Houston Oilers with 13 Governor's Cup wins.[5]

Governor's Cup results since 2002

The Texans joined the NFL as an expansion team for the 2002 season. Since then, the Texans lead in the series overall at 8–7 as of the start of the 2018 season. The Texans lead the pre-season series at 6–5 and the Dallas Cowboys lead the regular season series 3–2.

Game summaries

Date	Score	Stadium, City	Attendance	Regular season/ Preseason
Cowboys-Oilers Rivalry
September 2, 1967	Dallas Cowboys 30 Houston Oilers 17	Rice Stadium Houston, Texas	53,125	Preseason
August 31, 1968	Dallas Cowboys 33 Houston Oilers 19	Astrodome Houston, Texas	52,289	Preseason
August 28, 1969	Dallas Cowboys 14 Houston Oilers 11	Astrodome Houston, Texas	55,310	Preseason
August 29, 1970	Houston Oilers 37 Dallas Cowboys 21	Astrodome Houston, Texas	46,548	Preseason
December 20, 1970	Dallas Cowboys 52 Houston Oilers 10	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas	50,504	Regular season
August 26, 1971	Dallas Cowboys 28 Houston Oilers 20	Astrodome Houston, Texas	49,078	Preseason
August 5, 1972	Dallas Cowboys 26 Houston Oilers 24	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	65,405	Preseason
August 23, 1973	Houston Oilers 27 Dallas Cowboys 24	Astrodome Houston, Texas	46,942	Preseason
August 17, 1974	Dallas Cowboys 19 Houston Oilers 13 (overtime)	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	53,148	Preseason
November 24, 1974	Dallas Cowboys 10 Houston Oilers 0	Astrodome Houston, Texas	49,775	Regular season
August 30, 1975	Dallas Cowboys 17 Houston Oilers 14	Astrodome Houston, Texas	46,951	Preseason
September 4, 1976	Dallas Cowboys 26 Houston Oilers 20 (overtime)	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	58,844	Preseason
September 3, 1977	Houston Oilers 23 Dallas Cowboys 14	Astrodome Houston, Texas	49,777	Preseason
August 19, 1978	Houston Oilers 27 Dallas Cowboys 13	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	62,242	Preseason
August 18, 1979	Dallas Cowboys 16 Houston Oilers 13	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	62,803	Preseason
November 22, 1979	Houston Oilers 30 Dallas Cowboys 24	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	63,897	Regular season
August 23, 1980	Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Oilers 13	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	63,658	Preseason
August 29, 1981	Dallas Cowboys 28 Houston Oilers 20	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	63,799	Preseason
September 4, 1982	Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Oilers 14	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	60,150	Preseason
December 13, 1982	Dallas Cowboys 37 Houston Oilers 7	Astrodome Houston, Texas	51,808	Regular season
August 27, 1983	Dallas Cowboys 34 Houston Oilers 31	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	54,363	Preseason
August 25, 1984	Dallas Cowboys 31 Houston Oilers 24	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	53,877	Preseason
August 31, 1985	Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Oilers 10	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	53,812	Preseason
September 29, 1985	Dallas Cowboys 17 Houston Oilers 10	Astrodome Houston, Texas	49,686	Regular season
August 30, 1986	Houston Oilers 17 Dallas Cowboys 14	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	62,239	Preseason
September 5, 1987	Houston Oilers 18 Dallas Cowboys 13	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	47,043	Preseason
August 27, 1988	Houston Oilers 54 Dallas Cowboys 10	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	48,400	Preseason
November 24, 1988	Houston Oilers 25 Dallas Cowboys 17	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	50,845	Regular season
September 2, 1989	Dallas Cowboys 30 Houston Oilers 28	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	63,582	Preseason
September 1, 1990	Houston Oilers 27 Dallas Cowboys 6	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	55,499	Preseason
August 18, 1991	Houston Oilers 30 Dallas Cowboys 20	Astrodome Houston, Texas	53,314	Preseason
November 10, 1991	Houston Oilers 26 Dallas Cowboys 23 (overtime)	Astrodome Houston, Texas	63,001	Regular season
August 2, 1992	Houston Oilers 34 Dallas Cowboys 23	Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan	51,058	Preseason
August 15, 1992	Houston Oilers 17 Dallas Cowboys 16	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	61,334	Preseason
August 21, 1993	Houston Oilers 23 Dallas Cowboys 20	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas	63,285	Preseason
August 15, 1994	Houston Oilers 6 Dallas Cowboys 0	Estadio Azteca Mexico City, Mexico	112,376	Preseason
September 11, 1994	Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Oilers 17	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	64,402	Regular season
August 26, 1995	Dallas Cowboys 10 Houston Oilers 0	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas	52,512	Preseason
August 24, 1996	Dallas Cowboys 24 Houston Oilers 19	Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida	44,296	Preseason
Cowboys-Texans Rivalry
September 8, 2002	Houston Texans 19 Dallas Cowboys 10	Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas	69,604	Regular season
August 15, 2003	Dallas Cowboys 34 Houston Texans 6	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	60,058	Preseason
August 14, 2004	Houston Texans 18 Dallas Cowboys 0	Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas	70,431	Preseason
August 27, 2005	Dallas Cowboys 21 Houston Texans 9	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	54,288	Preseason
October 15, 2006	Dallas Cowboys 34 Houston Texans 6	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	63,186	Regular season
August 25, 2007	Houston Texans 28 Dallas Cowboys 16	Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas	70,512	Preseason
August 22, 2008	Dallas Cowboys 23 Houston Texans 22	Texas Stadium Irving, Texas	60,795	Preseason
August 28, 2010	Houston Texans 23 Dallas Cowboys 7	Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas	70,725	Preseason
September 26, 2010	Dallas Cowboys 27 Houston Texans 13	Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas	71,456	Regular season
August 29, 2013	Houston Texans 24 Dallas Cowboys 6	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	76,856	Preseason
October 5, 2014	Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Texans 17 (overtime)	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	91,159	Regular season
September 3, 2015	Dallas Cowboys 21 Houston Texans 14	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	85,067	Preseason
September 1, 2016	Houston Texans 28 Dallas Cowboys 17	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	81,016	Preseason
August 31, 2017	Cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey[upper-alpha 1]			Preseason
August 30, 2018	Houston Texans 14 Dallas Cowboys 6	NRG Stadium Houston, Texas	71,438	Preseason
October 7, 2018	Houston Texans 19 Dallas Cowboys 16 (overtime)	NRG Stadium Houston, Texas	72,008	Regular season
August 24, 2019	Dallas Cowboys 34 Houston Texans 0	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	85,636	Preseason

Notes

The game was to be moved from its original venue, NRG Stadium, to the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, due to public safety concerns regarding flooding in the Houston area from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey.[6] The game was later cancelled to allow the Texans players to return to Houston after the storm.[7]

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References

"NFL ANNOUNCES 2002–2009 SCHEDULE ROTATION". footballinjuries.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20.
Wangrin, Mark (August 3, 1990). "Governor's Cup game moved; Cowboys-Oilers exhibition series switches to Astrodome in '91". Austin American-Statesman. p. D7.
Texas Sports News Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
The Worlds Biggests
"Express-News Archives : MySA.com".
"Cowboys-Texans game relocated to AT&T Stadium". NFL.com. August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
Epstein, Jori (August 30, 2017). "Cowboys-Texans game canceled to give Houston players chance to go home after Harvey". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.

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[2017game-8] The game was to be moved from its original venue, NRG Stadium, to the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, due to public safety concerns regarding flooding in the Houston area from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey.[6] The game was later cancelled to allow the Texans players to return to Houston after the storm.[7]

[1] "NFL ANNOUNCES 2002–2009 SCHEDULE ROTATION". footballinjuries.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20.

[2] Wangrin, Mark (August 3, 1990). "Governor's Cup game moved; Cowboys-Oilers exhibition series switches to Astrodome in '91". Austin American-Statesman. p. D7.

[3] Texas Sports News Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine

[4] The Worlds Biggests

[5] "Express-News Archives : MySA.com".

[6] "Cowboys-Texans game relocated to AT&T Stadium". NFL.com. August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.

[7] Epstein, Jori (August 30, 2017). "Cowboys-Texans game canceled to give Houston players chance to go home after Harvey". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.