Cowboys receive some good injury news ahead of Week 12 vs. Commanders

The Cowboys will have their top offensive player vs. Commanders.

The Washington Commanders (7-4) are playing the Dallas Cowboys (3-7) at the right time. The Cowboys saw several starters depart the game with injuries after a blowout loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night.

This week’s injury report featured several of Dallas’ best players, including CeeDee Lamb, Zack Martin, Tyler Smith, DaRon Bland, Trevon Diggs and others.

Dallas is already without quarterback Dak Prescott for the season. What other starters would miss Sunday’s NFC East showdown vs. Washington?

On Friday, the Cowboys released their final injury report and it did contain some good news. While tight end Jake Ferguson and safety Markquese Bell were ruled out, Lamb, who missed Thursday’s practice, will play Sunday.

Things don’t appear so positive for the future Hall of Famer Martin. Dallas listed him as doubtful with ankle and shoulder injuries. Martin has battled injuries all season.

Diggs, Smith and wide receiver Brandin Cooks are all questionable. Bland and fellow cornerback Jourdan Lewis will play on Sunday, though.

The Cowboys are in the middle of a five-game losing streak and coming off back-to-back blowout losses to Philadelphia and Houston.

 

Commanders vs. Cowboys injury report: Latest updates, news for Thursday

The second injury report for Week 12 is out and the Cowboys had six players out.

The Washington Commanders returned to practice Thursday in preparation for the Dallas Cowboys. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore continues to miss practice, but there were positive developments regarding Lattimore.

According to John Keim of ESPN, Lattimore “did a lot of work on the side. CB movements, tracking the ball, cutting to defend a pass. Was about 3/4 speed when we were watching.”

This is a positive development, considering it’s the most work Lattimore has done since his arrival three weeks ago. Whether he plays on Sunday against Dallas or not, he appears to be trending in the right direction.

Now, for the rest of the injury report — it remains ugly for the Cowboys, but let’s begin with the Commanders.

Here is the Commanders’ complete injury report for Thursday:

Did not participate: CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), DE Clelin Ferrell (knee), CB Michael Davis (NIR/personal)

Limited participants: K Austin Seibert (right hip),  CB Noah Igbinoghene (thumb), LB Nick Bellore (knee), OLB Dante Fowler Jr. (hip)

Full participants: DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (ankle), LB Jordan Magee (elbow), T Brandon Coleman (thumb), DE Dorance Armstrong (knee), TE Ben Sinnott (illness)

Here is the Cowboys’ injury report for Thursday:

Did not participate: TE Jake Ferguson (concussion), G Zack Martin (ankle, shoulder), G Tyler Smith (ankle, knee), LB Nick Vigil (foot), WR CeeDee Lamb (back, foot), S Markquese Bell (shoulder)

Limited participants: WR Brandin Cooks (knee),  DE Marshawn Kneeland (knee), CB Jourdan Lewis (neck), FB Hunter Luepke (calf), CB Trevon Diggs (groin, knee)

Full participants: CB DaRon Bland (foot), T Chuma Edoga (toe), T Tyler Guyton (shoulder), LB Eric Kendricks (shoulder)

Commanders vs. Cowboys injury report: Latest updates, news for Wednesday

The first injury report for Week 12 is out.

The Washington Commanders received some much-needed rest after last Thursday’s 26-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Washington’s second straight loss after winning six of its previous seven games.

The Commanders returned to practice on Wednesday in preparation for their first matchup of the season with the Dallas Cowboys. Only two players missed practice for the Commanders, but cornerback Marshon Lattimore remained sidelined.

Head coach Dan Quinn recently said Lattimore was close to a return but did not offer a timeline. Here’s a look at Washington’s first injury report of the week:

Here is the Commanders’ complete injury report for Wednesday:

Did not participate: CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring),  LB Nick Bellore (knee), TE Zach Ertz (NIR/rest)

Limited participants: K Austin Seibert (right hip), DE Clelin Ferrell (knee), CB Noah Igbinoghene (thumb), TE Ben Sinnott (illness)

Full participants: T Brandon Coleman (thumb), DE Dorance Armstrong (knee), DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (ankle), LB Jordan Magee (elbow)

Here is the Cowboys’ injury report for Wednesday:

Did not participate: TE Jake Ferguson (concussion), FB Hunter Luepke (calf), G Zack Martin (ankle, shoulder), G Tyler Smith (ankle, knee), LB Nick Vigil (foot)

Limited participant: WR Brandin Cooks (knee), LB Eric Kendricks (shoulder), DE Marshawn Kneeland (knee), WR CeeDee Lamb (back, foot), CB Jourdan Lewis (neck)

Full participant: CB DaRon Bland (foot), T Chume Edoga (toe), T Tyler Guyton (shoulder)

Is CeeDee Lamb playing today? Injury news update for Cowboys wide receiver

Here’s the latest status for the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb for Week 11 against the Houston Texans.

The Dallas Cowboys had an entire laundry list of injured players throughout the week of practice, in preparation for their Monday night matchup with the Houston Texans. Over 1/3rd of their roster appeared on the practice report from Thursday, the first day of the week when MNF participants are forced to reveal the statuses of their players for the upcoming contest.

But it was one injury that appeared, somewhat out of nowhere, on the final practice day that is going to wreak the most havoc on the team’s plans to stop a four-game losing streak. Wideout CeeDee Lamb appeared with a back injury. Lamb has been listed as questionable for the week.

After dealing with a shoulder the week before, Lamb is doing his best to be the solid solider and example setter for the younger ones on the roster.

For what it’s worth, head coach Mike McCarthy minimized the impact of the injury on Saturday, saying he’s optimistic the star wideout will play.

With no Dak Prescott under center, the Cowboys are going to rely heavily on Lamb to be the best player on the field when the offense has the ball. He had a team-high six catches last week, but for a measly 21 yards in the club’s first game without Prescott.

Lamb has played the Texans just once before, in 2022, when he caught five balls for 33 yards.

Jerry Jones won’t admit it is curtains at AT&T Stadium

Jerry Jones isn’t getting a designer to have curtains installed at AT&T Stadium

No matter the 3-6 record and loss of quarterback Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys owner refuses to says it is curtains for his team in 2024 or anytime at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys were walloped by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 34-6, On one play, elite WR CeeDee Lamb was in the end zone ready to catch a touchdown pass.

Problem was he couldn’t see the football through the sun beading down at the venue.

Lamb was asked if thought curtains would be beneficial, especially in games that start in the late-afternoon window.

“Yes,” he said. “1,000 percent.”

Will he bring it up to Jones?

“I mean y’all are doing my job right now,”

Jones has been stubborn about no curtains for the 15 years of the stadium’s existence and he isn’t changing.

“Well, let’s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one? You kidding me?” Jones said.

Sun-day Memories: Lamb’s lament brings Jerry Jones stubbornness to light, literally

Eight years after originally running an article on it, the sun continues to wreak havoc on Cowboys home games and Jerry Jones is still being defiant about it. | From @KDDrummondNFL

This article first appeared during CowboysWire’s first year of existence: 2016. Yet here again, eight years later, it is still relevant because Jerry Jones would rather have iconic images circulating the web than to eliminate a problem that’s existed since AT&T Stadium was being built. Nothing here has aged poorly, so we revisit the conversation had then.


For a $1.2 billion stadium, one would think sun interference would be the last thing a home team need worry about. Maybe that’s part of the problem, it seems as if it was one of the last things the club worried about, according to one aerospace engineer.

Gregg Wilson, former officer in the Canadian Air Force and consultant to defense giants such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is a long-time Cowboys season ticket holder. In 2008, as the team was beginning to work on the new stadium, Wilson inquired as to possible sun interference when working with the sales department to determine where his seats would be.

My concerns about the new stadium’s sun problems arose from one of the biggest problems from the old [Texas] stadium… the infamous sun spot.  You never wanted to be stuck sitting in it during the pre-season or the first month of the regular season . . . The hole in roof acted like a giant magnifying glass.  Everyone in the sun for those early games were literally melting away.

I recall the sales staff reassuring everyone that the new stadium would never have this problem since it was temperature controlled that the roof wouldn’t be open with outside temperatures hotter than 80 degrees or colder than 60 degrees . . .

In my opinion, a magnified 80 degrees was still unacceptable considering the high cost associated with PSLs.

At the time, I was requesting a very specific PSL on the home side of the stadium and they said I would need to prove an inadequacy with one side of the stadium versus the other… before they would entertain my request.

And prove it, he did.

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Wilson provided them a series of data charts in addition to the one above explaining troublesome dates and times when the sun could affect the viewing experience. Wilson states the overmatched Cowboys sales team replied “Is this a joke?”

If it was, Jason Witten and Dez Bryant certainly weren’t laughing in the Giants game.

Had I not done that analysis for those seats (for the top opening), I never would have guessed there was a potential problem with the side windows of the stadium (that’s the location on my graph that says “Impact unknown”).  Remember, the old stadium never had side windows.

Wilson made the point if he was able to construct a feasible mapping of how the sun could potentially affect his viewing experience, it would stand to reason the club would have invested resources into preparing themselves for the possibility it could affect the game. There likely wouldn’t be any communication between a sales staff and those that deal with in-game strategy such as choosing which direction to pick prior to kickoff. However, in seven years of playing at the stadium, one would hope the Cowboys staff would be better prepared for such a scenario.

Wilson believes if nothing changes, the problem could reappear Sunday during the game against the Bengals and possibly even the Washington game in November. He even suggests Cowboys should worry more about which direction they play in than whether or not to get the ball first.

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I’m not saying the sales staff (back from 2008) should have spoken to the coaching staff to pick the right side of the field (I doubt that type of dialog ever existed back then, nor does it exist now)… but surely somebody else must have noticed a “potential” sun problem over the past 7 years and the Cowboys could have spent a small amount of money to put valuable information in their own hands.  Not sure who won the coin toss this past Sunday but it disappoints me if it was us and then we ultimately picked the wrong side.
For arguments sake, let’s say the Cowboys truly had no idea.  If that’s the case, they know now and there’s no reason it should ever happen again.

As it turns out, they did know, or at least the architects who designed the stadium did. Bryan Trubey, executive vice president of the architectural firm that built AT&T Stadium revealed the football park’s orientation is due to its position as the flagship of a bigger, unfinished sports complex is the reason for the sun issues.

“That stadium was developed as part of a master plan,” Trubey said. “That master plan will play out some day and the alignment between the stadium and the ballpark is one of the key elements to the entire master plan.

“When you get to the west side of the stadium, when we get the higher densities there, when you have 14-, 15-story buildings, which is not out of the realm of possibility, it’s a completely different situation,” Trubey said.

“We knew, quite frankly, we could handle the sun angles, which we knew from the very beginning, would be like that, exactly the way we handle it right now with the screens and the drapes,” Trubey said. – SportsDay

Wait, there are screens and drapes? Then how in the world could there have been impact on the game and more importantly, how was it allowed to continue?

Owner Jerry Jones calls the impact the sun has on a game, even Sunday’s loss, fractional.

Well, okay then. Hopefully, the decision makers will utilize the fail-safes to prevent this from happening again.

CeeDee Lamb sets Cowboys record for fastest player to this milestone

The Cowboys wideout has been a reception machine ever since coming into the league and set a furious pace over the last few seasons. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles hasn’t gotten off to the best start for the Dallas Cowboys. An early fumble on a pistol-formation snap to Cooper Rush gave the bad guys the ball deep in Cowboys’ territory and the Eagles took advantage. Jalen Hurts scored on a Tush Push to put Philadelphia up 7-0.

That didn’t dissaude the Cowboys from making some history on their next drive however. After a strong return by Kavontae Turpin, Dallas found themselves in 3rd-and-2 from their own 48. That’s when Rush found WR CeeDee Lamb for a six-yard gain and a new set of downs. The reception was Lamb’s second of the game, giving him 450 for his career. He’s the fastest player in Cowboys history to reach that mark, and by a pretty wide margin.

Lamb was able to make his 450th career catch in his fifth season and just his 75th career game. The next fastest in Dallas history was Jason Witten, who made the mark in his 100th career game during his seventh season.

Below is a list of every Cowboys player with at least 450 regular season receptions.

Player Total Receptions Season Reached 450 Games to 450
Emmitt Smith 486 11 167
Jaosn Witten 1215 7 100
Michael Irvin 750 8 102
Dez Bryant 531 7 109
Drew Pearson 489 11 144
Tony Hill 479 10 130
CeeDee Lamb 450+ 5 75

Lamb entered the contest with 53 receptions for 660 receiving yards, putting him on pace for his third consecutive season with at least 100 receptions for 1,000 yards.

Is CeeDee Lamb playing today? Injury news update for Cowboys wide receiver

Here’s the latest status for the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb for Week 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys suffered a catastrophic injury last week, when quarterback Dak Prescott’s left hamstring gave out on him against the Atlanta Falcons. Midway through the third quarter, Dallas lost their franchise signal caller, an injury that’s expected to leave an already lackluster passing game worse off.

The only thing that’s worked on any kind of regular basis has been throwing to All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb, and that was seen to be in jeopardy with the way Lamb suffered through the Week 9 loss himself. Lamb struggled to return to his feet on several pass completions, favoring his shoulder to a great degree. He left the game for a while, but was able to return to try and help a comeback they couldn’t complete.

Lamb had been limited in practice the first two days of the week, but returned to full participation status on Friday, receiving a relatively clean bill of health. Lamb was not given a game injury designation despite the shoulder issue.

Related: Cowboys missing almost 50% of their salary cap from Week 10 lineup

Lamb caught seven passes last week, but for only 47 yards, as he was kept out of the end zone until a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

Over the past three games, Lamb has 28 receptions, but without Prescott throwing him the ball it’s difficult to project how well he’ll be able to catch balls from backups.

For what it’s worth, Lamb has had a couple nice games with Cooper Rush under center in the past. In 2022 Week 3, he caught eight of 12 targets from Rush for 87 yards and a score. He followed that up with 6 for 97 and a score in Week 4.

For fantasy purposes, Lamb is far too talented to ever take out the lineup, even with the Cowboys’ passing offense struggling.

Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb gets encouraging news on shoulder injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: An MRI has confirmed that Lamb has a sprained AC joint, but he may not miss any time. History shows he’ll be just fine with Cooper Rush.

While the hamstring injury suffered by quarterback Dak Prescott in Sunday’s loss will cost the Cowboys multiple games without their leader, the team’s top offensive weapon appears to have dodged a bullet.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb played through a shoulder injury for most of the game and even caught a two-point conversion late in the contest despite being in obvious pain.

Lamb has a sprained AC joint, according to multiple reports, news that would confirm the team’s early suspicions. Last season’s receptions leader will have a sore shoulder, but the injury is not considered serious. He is being called “week-to-week” and may not even miss any time.

“I’ll be out there,” Lamb told reporters. “I’ll be playing.”

The initial injury came in the second quarter after a hard fall to the turf while making a catch. A fourth-quarter dive on a deep ball aggravated the injury further, causing him to stay down momentarily and even miss several plays.

He was able to return.

Lamb totaled eight catches on 12 targets Sunday, gaining 47 yards and that two-point conversion from backup passer Cooper Rush in the waning moments of the 27-21 loss in Week 9.

Now it appears that Rush will take over in Dallas, barring a surprise roster change by the team to go with third-stringer Trey Lance.

But assuming Rush gets the gig, there may not be the dropoff for Lamb that many fans would expect at first blush. The 30-year-old quarterback out of Central Michigan has started six games as a Cowboy, and Lamb’s receiving numbers in that relatively small sample size are… actually… just fine.

Tgt Rec Yds TD
2021 at MIN 8 6 112 0
2022 vs CIN 11 7 75 0
2022 at NYG 12 8 87 1
2022 vs WAS 8 6 97 1
2022 at LAR 8 5 53 0
2022 at PHI 10 5 68 0

In Rush’s six starts, Lamb has averaged six catches on 11 targets for 82 yards per outing.

Over 74 career games, Lamb has averaged six catches on nine targets for 78 yards per outing.

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If Lamb is to play this Sunday when the Eagles come to Arlington, he’ll likely need a positive week of rehab work with the Cowboys training staff and at least one full practice under his belt by the weekend.

“It hurts, no need to shortchange it,” Lamb said of his right shoulder. “But that’s no excuse for my performance. I could have played better overall, and I’ll be better. I’m not going to put so much emphasis on it as far as me catching the ball because overall, that’s my job, but yeah, it definitely hurt.”

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Lions film room: Brian Branch had a career day against the Dallas Cowboys

Lions film room: Safety Brian Branch had a career day in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys

It’s hard to beat having a pick-six in your first career game like Brian Branch did last season against the Kansas City Chiefs. That will always get labeled as a career day and fortunately for the Lions, Branch has had plenty of good games in his young career.

However, last week against the Cowboys, it felt like it was the best game of his career so far.

Branch finished with 6 tackles, two pass deflections, one forced fumble and two interceptions. Not only did he load the stat sheet with impressive numbers, he also forces offenses to consider which way they want to run or throw the football. His physicality and consistency in stopping the run or pass makes it difficult for the opposition.

For example, let’s start with his forced fumble against Cowboys WR Ryan Flournoy. As you can see in the play above, Branch is the safety to the boundary. While Branch sits in the passing window of a potential post route or in-breaking route, the Cowboys QB Dak Prescott throws to Flournoy running the curl route.

Once the catch is secured, Branch begins his pursuit to the football. In the process, he does a great job punching this ball and forcing a big fumble that was recovered by the Lions defense. Had he not gone for the takeaway, this would have been a first down and it could have led to this drive being capped off by a field goal or touchdown.

Next, I want to focus on one of the interceptions made by Brian Branch. On the play above, you’ll see Branch aligned as the safety over the top of the trips bunch formation from the Cowboys. Once the ball is snapped, you get the outside receiver (WR 80 Ryan Flournoy) setting up to block one of the defensive backs.

Meanwhile, the point man (WR 1 Jalen Tolbert) runs a bubble towards the sideline and inside receiver (WR 88 CeeDee Lamb) runs a corner route. The bubble is supposed to pull Branch down and it should open the corner route in the back of the end zone. Fortunately for the Lions, Branch has other ideas.

As the play develops, Branch baits the quarterback in thinking he’s going down to the bubble. However, Branch undercuts the corner route and makes a great read and play to intercept the pass.

With the injury sustained to defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, it feels like Brian Branch will be viewed as the Lions best defensive player moving forward. The expectations for him were already high going into this season but now they may be higher. The best part for the Lions and their fan base is that Branch is more than talented to meet and exceed those expectations.