Cowboys news: Defensive line suffering from injury, secondary getting healthier
Dallas Cowboys plan to put DE DeMarcus Lawrence on IR with foot injury – Staff, Dallas Morning News
DeMarcus Lawrence has been one of the Cowboys most reliable defenders for a long time, but Mike Zimmer’s defense will be without him for some time.
The Dallas Cowboys will place defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence on injured reserve in the coming days, a person with knowledge of the club’s thinking told The Dallas Morning News.
Discussions about potential roster moves are ongoing, but the current plan is to elevate defensive end Carl Lawson from practice squad for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, while bringing in several other players for workouts.
Lawrence suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot in the third quarter of the Cowboys’ 20-15 victory over the Giants on Thursday. The injury will cost him anywhere between four to eight weeks on the field, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Dallas Morning News.
If Lawrence is placed on injured reserve, the earliest he could return is Nov. 3 at Atlanta.
It’s the third time in Lawrence’s 11-year career he’s missed time with a foot injury. Lawrence missed games in 2014 and 2021 with a broken foot.
After the Giants game, Lawrence said the foot “hurt like hell,” but he was hopeful it wasn’t serious.
Cowboys preparing to play without injured Micah Parsons – Todd Archer, ESPN
The Cowboys pass rush has been lacking this season even with Micah Parsons, and now they must find an answer without their do-it-all star player.
Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons has not missed a game due to injury at any level of football, but it’s looking more likely that he’ll miss his first on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a high left ankle sprain.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on Monday said the team is preparing to play Sunday’s game without Parsons.
“Man, it’s like, just frustrating, for real,” said Parsons, who missed one game in 2021 because of COVID. “Going from being ready and being there for the team to being out hurts me because I feel like I’m letting people down.”
Parsons acknowledged it might “make sense to some” to sit out the next two games and the bye week.
“But when you’re a real competitor, you only get 17 chances at this,” Parsons said. “And missing one of these opportunities to perform at the highest level bothers me. I feel like I want to play on Sunday. If I can play, I will play, you know. To me, as long as I can run and move how I move, I want to play.”
How Mike Zimmer, Cowboys plan to compensate for absence of Dallas’ defensive ‘motor’ – David Moore, DMN
There’s no replacing playmakers like Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, but the Cowboys will certainly try.
Discussions are ongoing, but the plan for now is to elevate defensive end Carl Lawson from the practice squad for Sunday’s game and bring in several players for a workout.
Parsons is a focal point for every opponent. Accounting for where he lines up and how to neutralize him is where the offensive game plan starts.
The Steelers won’t have that concern. There’s no one player the Cowboys can plug into his hybrid role. Zimmer said he will just have to figure out how he intends to use other players and come up with a plan that plays to their strengths.
It will be a collective effort, not an individual one.
“That’s it,” McCarthy said. “It’s not like you take one player and put him in and give him the exact same responsibility in reps that Micah had or what D-Law had. It’s going to be a combination of things.
“You let the game plan bring that to light.”
The injuries open the door for rookie Marshawn Kneeland and veteran Chauncey Golston to move into the starting lineup.
Updates: Carson on track vs. Steelers, Bland latest – Staff, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys may be able to put rookie Caelen Carson back in the lineup at cornerback on Sunday night against the Steelers.
Caelen Carson is currently on track to potentially return when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime on Sunday.
The rookie fifth-round pick missed the victory over the New York Giants with a shoulder injury suffered in the loss against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, putting the Cowboys down their immediate replacement for All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland, the latter working to return from injured reserve.
It looks as if at least one of the two could be on the field this weekend.
“I think Carson has a real chance,” said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones to 105.3 The Fan on Monday. “I think Bland is a longer shot. We’ll see. I think [Bland] is really starting to pick it up now, in terms of the workload that Britt [Brown] is giving him. We’ll continue to monitor his situation as we move forward.”
Cowboys make list of early NFL season surprises – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside The Star
Pittsburgh is never an easy place to get a road win, but the Cowboys may be embracing another game away from home with extra rest after starting the season 0-2 at home.
Cowboys’ Home Record
The Dallas Cowboys are 2-2 on the season after dispatching the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football last week. Their record isn’t a shocker, but when you consider where the losses occurred, it might raise your eyebrows.
Mike McCarthy’s bunch was undefeated at home last season until the meltdown in the Wildcard round versus the Green Bay Packers. Their home dominance was expected to continue this offseason, but instead, they have been dominated in two outings.
First, the New Orleans Saints thrashed them by the score of 44-19. Then, the Baltimore Ravens strolled in and rushed for 274 yards in a 28-25 victory. Don’t let the final score fool you. Baltimore was winning 28-6 at the start of the 4th quarter.
We all knew an undefeated streak at home wouldn’t last, but it’s not the losses themselves that matter so much. It’s the manner of defeat. Dallas was pounded into the turf in both these losses.
They better whip themselves into shape because relying solely on road victories won’t get teams very far in today’s NFL.
Cowboys should listen to Mike Tomlin’s own words before facing his Steelers in Week 5 – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports
Both teams should have plenty of motivation to win their first game of October on Sunday night.
Tomlin also made an honest assessment of the Steelers’ loss that ironically serves as a big piece of advice to the Cowboys, as the rival coach’s message is guaranteed to apply to them this weekend.
“You just don’t win football games versus motivated groups in their venue playing the way that we played today in certain instances,” Tomlin said about losing to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys will be in a similar spot in a handful of days: After a tough loss on the road that took an undefeated status off of their hands, the 3-1 Steelers will be as motivated as you can be in the NFL. You just know it’s a spot Tomlin will have them fired up for it.
On the Cowboys’ end of things, there have been sloppy moments on both offense and defense that if they show up on Sunday, as Tomlin lays out, it could cost them the game. You can’t have pass protection breakdowns against T.J. Watt & Co. You can’t have missed tackles (Cowboys had 16 against the Giants) against a dual-threat quarterback like Justin Fields. Not against a well-coached squad like Tomlin’s.
The Steelers matchup is a “winnable” game that Dallas could really use before a slate of games that includes the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and Philadelphia Eagles. But they can’t have those hiccups on the road.
NFC East grades: Where Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants stack up after four weeks of 2024 NFL season – Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports
Both the Cowboys and Eagles find themselves looking up at one of the biggest surprise teams in the league with the Commanders at 3-1.
Dallas Cowboys
Record: 2-2 | Offense Rank: 13th | Defense Rank: 26th
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb have remained steady through the air, and the Micah Parsons-led pass rush has proven capable of suffocating inferior offensive fronts. Yet Jerry Jones’ perennially high-profile lineup has been one-dimensional with the ball in its hands, posing no real threat on the ground. New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has also overseen a streaky unit, particularly against the run. Coach Mike McCarthy still has enough talent at premium spots to be in the playoff mix, but with Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence the latest to get banged up, things might get bumpier before they get better.
Quarter-season grade: C
Philadelphia Eagles
Record: 2-2 | Offense Rank: 6th | Defense Rank: 29th
On one hand, sitting at .500 despite recently missing injured all-stars like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson bodes well for the long run. On the other, not since Jalen Hurts was dueling Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LVII has the Eagles’ offense looked consistently special, let alone reliable. The yards are there; the situational decision-making often is not. Coach Nick Sirianni is under major heat to get this team more prepared, more creative, more disciplined, which is the same thing we said late in 2023. The pieces (like new star Saquon Barkley) are there to course-correct. How about the leaders?
Quarter-season grade: C
