'Amazing Race' recap: Seems like the Dallas Cowboys' luck rubbed off on #TeamTexas

Rules are rules. You can live, die or lose momentum because of them.

In football, you can be driving down the field and a ref throws a flag because one of your burly linemen is hugging an opposing burly lineman too closely. Holding. You lose 10 yards and you've lost momentum. It seems random because colliding linemen appear to be holding one another on every play.

If anyone knows penalties can cost momentum, it should be #TeamTexas's Josh Ahern and Tanner Kloven.

Surely, they've been to enough Dallas Cowboys watch parties in Cowtown or Uptown watering holes to know that a penalty can shut down a good team.

On The Amazing Race, #TeamTexas started fast, then a little lollygagging cost Josh and Tanner. Then, a last-place finish in a non-elimination round last week caused them to face further consequences in this week's episode. They earned the Speed Bump designation, which is the reality-show equivalent of a holding penalty. Then, another team put another whammy on them late in the show, which was the reality-show equivalent of losing Tony Romo and Dez Bryant to injuries.

Like the Cowboys, Josh and Tanner lost complete momentum.

Cowboys fans, who knows what losing momentum is all about, will empathize with #TeamTexas in this episode.

Did Josh and Tanner recover from all that lost momentum? Found out below. Detes are in the spoilers below.

Spoilers

The start: Kraków, Poland

The finish: New Delhi, India.

Episode 9 name: 'It's Always the Quiet Ones'

Starting teams (6): #TeamAlabama (Denise Williams and James Earl Corley), #TheGreenTeam (Justin Scheman and Diana Bishop), #TheReporters (Kelsey Gerckens and Joey Buttitta), #ThePaparazzi (Logan Fazio and Chris Gordon), #TeamTexas (Josh Ahern and Tanner Kloven), #TheCheerleaders (Tiffany Chantell and Krista Debono).

Road Block: Coming Out in the Wash: Once in India, the teams stepped through crowded bazaars and muddy streets, it was on to do the laundry by the Yamuna River. It sounded simple: Ride a big bike to the edge of the river, soak the colorful saris in a big vat and take them out on the sandy shore to dry. Sounds like something you'd do on the banks of the Trinity on a weekend. To Josh and Tanner, it was the beginning of the end. By finishing last in the previous episode, Josh and Tanner were saddled with the Speed Bump, meaning both of them would have to perform the task rather than just one of them. They finished the challenge last and looked beaten. #TeamGreen zipped through it and kept its momentum for the next challenge. Everyone does it, but it looks far from fun.

Detour: Cans vs. Candy: For Cans, the teams have to load a cargo bike with 120 rectangular-ish oil cans and then manuever through a bustling bazaar to the New Taj Oil Co. #TeamGreen and #TheReporters did it without incident. For Candy, the teams must make a candy called Petha out of white pumpkins. You cut the pumpkins and use a metal cyclinder to press out tubes of pumpkin meat for the candy. You advance by coming up with 90 pounds of pumpkin slices. With flies swirling and monkeys looking on, #ThePaparazzi struggled with the task and badmouthed each other (Why does this couple keep getting sharp objects in their tasks? Are the producers wanting an incident between these unpleasant people?). #ThePaparazzi complete the task and leave just as Josh and Tanner arrive. #TeamTexas used the strategy of thicker slices and it helps them get past #TheCheerleaders.

Another reason for people to hate reporters: When #TheReporters get to the final clue stop, Kelsey and Joey do the unthinkable: They dole out the U-Turn to Josh and Tanner, meaning #TeamTexas has to also do the Can task. They do it, but they seem deflated.

Who finished first: #TheGreenTeam wins for the fourth consecutive time. On top of setting themselves up for a big payday, they earn a five-day trip to Hawaii. #TheReporters, who must live with themselves for pushing out a couple of good old Texas boys, finish second. #ThePaparazzi are third, but Logan throws down on the #TheGreenTeam, declaring Justin and Diana are "not winning the million." #TheCheerleaders finish fourth and break out in a Bhangra dance. #TeamAlabama was fifth, but Denise's biometrics made it sound like her heart was going to explode.

Who's out: #TeamTexas. Josh and Tanner still have their Texas charm. Too bad, it's not like America's Got Talent, where a contestant can get voted back in by the judges.

What's up with Phil's ... top? Host Phil Keoghan was wearing a floral top that made his physique seem a little ... different. Normally, Phil wears the local fashions well. This time, not so much.

Next week: More India. Crowded streets.