A dangerous situation occurred a few hours before the Monday game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium. In addition to this, the players still have to cope with problematic... sunlight.

Due to strong winds, a piece of the cover fell

A large piece of metal, along with fragments, fell from the stadium's roof while it was being opened as part of preparations for a game. No injuries were reported, but it fell near many production staff members. The roof was closed again and remained so throughout the game. The matter is still under review, and a decision will be made regarding the safe reopening of the roof, read an official statement from the Dallas Cowboys. A spokesperson also stated that the cause was strong winds. Wind gusts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, near Arlington, peaked at 52 mph on Monday afternoon.

The piece of metal came from a cable tray cover near the top of the stadium. It fell while the stadium’s retractable roof was being opened. According to FOX Sports, the roof's supporting arches at their highest point are nearly 300 feet above the field. By Monday evening, the stadium’s retractable roof had not been opened for a Cowboys home game since October 2022.

The stadium's structure is undamaged

A city of Arlington building inspector and deputy fire marshal consulted with AT&T Stadium and determined that there are no structural issues with the facility or its retractable roof. [...] Additional inspections and work have been carried out to further secure the cable tray covers, said a Dallas Cowboys spokesperson.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak

Blinding sunlight preventing players from playing?

However, this is not the only problem AT&T Stadium faces. The grand structure built by Jerry Jones has one small flaw: it tends to blind players. This is due to the angle of the low-lying sun combined with the stadium’s east-west orientation. The problem has existed for years, but during a recent game against Philadelphia, it was particularly problematic. Dallas players, looking back from the end zone, were staring directly into the sun, and the result was disastrous. At one point, Cowboys quarterback Jake Ferguson and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb couldn't see the ball coming their way. It should be noted that the sun moves across the field during the game, creating issues for anyone who finds themselves in its glare.

The issue sparked a heated online discussion. Jerry Jones builds a stadium that blinds his own players and causes losses, which is very typical of him, said Warren Sharp on X. In the past, Cowboys fans joked that the roof of Cowboys Stadium, the predecessor to AT&T, was open so that God could watch his favorite team play. During the game against the Eagles, the sun had an unrestricted view of a truly poor game, with the visiting team winning 34-6.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak

Dallas owner mocks the problem

After the game, Jones himself addressed the issue of sunlight. By the way, he said, we know where the sun will be when we decide whether to toss a coin or not. When asked about potential solutions to mitigate the sunlight, he replied, Well, we’ll just tear down the damn stadium and build another one. Are you kidding? After the loss, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb admitted that he dropped the ball because the blinding sunlight made it impossible to see the ball, adding that the stadium absolutely 1000% should install sunshields.