Piece of metal falls from Cowboys' stadium roof

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys had planned to open the AT&T Stadium roof for Monday night’s game against the Houston Texans, but the plan was scrapped because a piece of metal fell to the field as the roof was opening more than two hours before kickoff.

“We can confirm a piece of metal came loose and fell to the field [with some additional small debris] while the roof was in the process of opening,” the Cowboys said in a statement. “There were no injuries. It is being reviewed further, and a decision regarding the ability to re-open the roof safely will be made when possible.”

The Cowboys attributed high winds during the day Monday to contributing to the piece of metal falling and that the roof would remain closed for Monday night’s game.

The roof has not been open for a Cowboys game in the past two years. In last week’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the team intended to have the doors open for the game, but they would not open completely.

AT&T Stadium opened in 2009. The Cowboys are 2-5 all time with the roof open and doors closed.

The last time the Cowboys opened the roof was Oct. 30, 2022, against the Chicago Bears, a 49-29 win.

The roof and doors were open that day.

Entering Monday, the Cowboys have lost their first four home games this season and five in a row overall when including last season’s wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys have not lost five straight home games since 2015 and have not lost the first five home games of a season since 1989 when they finished 1-15 in Jerry Jones’ first year as owner and general manager.