Sometimes “the next man up” isn’t quite able to fill the previous man’s shoes. Sunday’s abysmal loss to Denver showed just how vital Tyron Smith is to the Cowboys offensive line; the team’s plan to slide La’el Collins and Terence Steele around to cover for him didn’t work. On Tuesday, the team owner shared a status update on Smith’s availability for Week 10. This comes as it also looks like the team will be without its regular kicker.
Elsewhere, looking back at how Mike McCarthy-led teams tend to bounce back after getting routed, a look at which Cowboys defender (surprisingly) earned the best grade on the team from PFF, and we’re handing out the kind of report cards for Week 9 that no one wanted to show to Mom. All that, plus fixing the Cowboys’ issues, updated power rankings, a Dallas playmaker is making the holiday season brighter for local families, and is Coach Prime coming to a major program? That and more in News and Notes…