Tag: 2021 week 13

Jerry Jones expecting Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott to carry ‘serious load’ vs Saints

Ezekiel Elliott’s knee issue won’t stop him from a being the bell cow runner against the Saints. Amari Cooper to return from COVID list.

Week 13 is a huge one for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. The club has lost three of their last four games and desperately need to find some momentum in December as they push for the playoffs.

Never at a loss for words, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. Jones gave an update about one of the Cowboys’ biggest offensive weapons and what his role will be against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday. Jones said he anticipates a serious workload for running back Ezekiel Elliott as the Cowboys look to stop a two-game losing streak.

“The facts are we’re expecting him to have a serious load against New Orleans,” Jones said of Elliott.

Elliott has been dealing with a knee issue since the Cowboys’ Week 4 matchup with the Carolina Panthers. Last week, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Cowboys were considering giving Elliott some rest and sitting him out against the Saints which would give him a two-and-a-half-week break before facing the Washington Football Team in Week 14.

The two-time rushing said on Sunday as the Cowboys started to prepare for the Saints that nobody had come to him about taking a game off.

“No one’s came to me and asked me to rest,” Elliott said.

Once the news came out that the Cowboys might sit Elliott it seemed that they were going to take the big picture approach and hand the keys to the car to Tony Pollard for a week. However, based on what Jones said, Elliott will be used heavily against the Saints’ third-ranked rush defense.

If Elliott is used a lot on Thursday he’ll be looking to get back to the way he was performing earlier in the season. During the first five games, he averaged 86.8 yards per game with two 100-yard outings. However, that has dipped 39.8 over the last five games.

It won’t be easy against a great Saints rush defense but if Elliott can somehow be effective the Cowboys have a great chance of controlling the pace of the game.

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How to watch, wager, live stream, listen to Cowboys-Saints in Week 13

Find out where to watch the broadcast of the game, how to stream, or listen, the over under for the game and who is favored and by how much. | From @CDPiglet

The Dallas Cowboys have a chance to do something they have not accomplished yet with Dak Prescott at quarterback; make the playoffs after losing the Thanksgiving game. This will  be Mike McCarthy’s first try, as he didn’t have his star QB available due to a season-ending injury in Week 5 of 2020.

This Thanksgiving Dallas fell to the Las Vegas Raiders, 36-33 in overtime. The team has been unlucky with player losses at a time when they have three games in 12 days. The increased snap counts due to a lack of depth makes it difficult on Dallas to recover in such short time.

The Cowboys offense is almost back to full strength getting all of their starters back for Thursday’s game. CeeDee Lamb is back after missing a game due to a concussion, and the offensive line should have Tyron Smith, La’el Collins, and Zack Martin all starting for the first time since 2019. Amari Cooper has yet to be activated off the Reserve/COVID list, but it’s unclear if that’s gamesmanship or if he’s still working back. Backup tight end Blake Jarwin and receiver Cedrick Wilson will be out, and with a New Orleans defense stacked with good players across the field, Dallas will need as many options as possible to pull this win off.

The Saints offense might be the only unit that has had worse injury luck than Dallas. They have been without either offensive tackle, Terron Armstead, or Ryan Ramczyk. Michael Thomas has been out all season. Last week both running backs, Alvin Kamara, and Mark Ingram missed the game. Not only have they been without Jameis Winston, but backup Taysom Hill has missed a couple weeks as well.

Hill and Ingram are returning this week, Ramczyk and Kamara have been limited participants in practice as well. With both teams starting to get healthy, this could be a must-see matchup of two teams who have combined for one win in the last four weeks and here is where you can watch, listen, and bet on the game.

Cowboys WR Cedrick Wilson nursing ankle injury, misses second straight practice

Cedrick Wilson suffered an ankle injury against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving threatening his availability. | From @StarConscience

Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson had the second 100-yard game of his career against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving, but it came at a price. Wilson suffered an ankle injury during the game and he was the only member of the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster to miss practice on Monday. He followed that up with another absence on Tuesday making his availability for Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Saints in doubt.

Wilson stepped into the WR3 role once Michael Gallup suffered a calf injury in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s fifth on the team in targets (44), fifth in receptions (30), fourth in yards (420), fourth in receiving touchdowns (3), and second in yards per catch (14.0) for the Cowboys this season. With Gallup returning to the lineup two weeks ago coupled and CeeDee Lamb (concussion) set to return from missing a week, Wilson and Amari Cooper are the standing question marks for now. If Cooper is activated from the COVID list, Wilson will resume his WR4 duties in which he’s as good as any receiver in the NFL at that spot when he himself is available.

The Cowboys signed Wilson to a one-year contract in April so he is playing for a possible new deal in 2022. His performance so far in 2021 is giving him a strong case to return to Dallas. With six games left, the Cowboys need him to continue to be productive as they look to wrap up the NFC East and a playoff birth in the coming weeks.

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Cowboys’ rookie CB Nahshon Wright added to Reserve/COVID list

Rookie cornerback Nahshon Wright joins left tackle Terence Steele and head coach Mike McCarthy as the latest on the Reserve/COVID list. | From @StarConscience

The hits just keep on coming for the Dallas Cowboys. Rookie cornerback Nahshon Wright, a third-round pick, has been added to the Reserve/COVID list and will miss the Cowboys’ matchup Thursday night with the New Orleans Saints. He joins right tackle Terence Steele and head coach Mike McCarthy as the most recent members of the organization to contract the virus.

Wright has appeared in 10 games this season, logging five defensive snaps as and 208 on special teams. That’s where he had his only impact play of the season against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. Wright recovered a punt that was blocked by defensive end Dorance Armstrong for a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 43-3 blowout win.

The former Oregon State Beaver will now enter into a 10-day quarantine and will have to have two negative tests within 24 hours of each other to return to the team.

With the Cowboys looking to get past a recent slump, they certainly hope Wright is the last player to get COVID for the foreseeable future.

[lawrence-newsletter]

WATCH: Perrion Winfrey creates a safety, Sooners recover muffed punt for a touchdown

Watch as the Oklahoma Sooners take their first lead of the game and extended it on big plays by the defense and special teams.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ second-half possessions haven’t gone well offensively as the Cowboys have forced them to punt twice. However, sandwiched in between the two punts, Oklahoma Sooners defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey took matters into his own hands as he worked his way into the backfield and while blocked, forced the offensive lineman into the Cowboys running back, forcing the fumble that Oklahoma State recovered, leading to a safety and a 26-24 lead.

Winfrey has been having a great game for the Sooners. His disruption at the point of attack has kept the Oklahoma State Cowboys off balance in the running game. After the Cowboys seemed to keep the Sooners’ defense off-balance for much of the first half, Oklahoma started to hit its stride late in the second quarter.

After the safety, the Sooners went three and out and were forced to punt the ball back to Oklahoma State. Michael Turk hung a beautiful kick high in the air and as Trevon West beared down on the returner, hitting him as he tried to catch it, he muffed the punt and Justin Broiles recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and a 33-24 lead.

The Oklahoma Sooners still have a long way to go, but their starting to hit their stride on the defensive side of the ball. The Sooners need to stay composed and continue to make plays, to find themselves on top when the game is over.

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5 Bold Predictions for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

5 Bold Predictions as the Oklahoma Sooners get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Bedlam.

In a highly anticipated matchup of top 10 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners travel to Stillwater to take on the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Oklahoma faces their rival on the heels of back-to-back subpar performances for an offense that was rolling through Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech. The Cowboys look to be playing the best football they’ve played all season. Oklahoma State boasts one of the best defenses in the country, which will pose a significant challenge to Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams.

As the Sooners get set to take on the Cowboys, here are 5 Bold Predictions for this week’s matchup.

How do the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys stack up statistically?

Heading into their week 13 matchup, how do the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys matchup statistically?

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys head into their Bedlam matchup in Stillwater as two top 10 teams looking for a boost into the College Football Playoff discussion. A win by either side would provide a top 10 win at the right time of the season. A Sooners win would mean a trip to Arlington for Oklahoma to set up a Big 12 Bedlam conference championship game. An Oklahoma State win and the Sooners’ season of meaningful football would come to an end.

It’s one of the more closely contested matchups in recent memory as the Oklahoma State Cowboys boast one of the best defenses in college football. At the same time, the Oklahoma Sooners have been struggling of late offensively, setting up what looks to be a mismatch for the Sooners.

As we do each week, let’s take a look at how these two teams match up with our tale of the tape.