Cowboys’ 53-man roster light on edge rushers for Week 13 game vs Colts

Dallas could have had two more players at their disposal to face the Colts on SNF, but must feel confident in this group to get the job done. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t have a need to create space on their roster this week, but they did. On Tuesday the club said goodbye to Tarell Basham, a defensive end they signed ahead of the 2021 season and then brought back for 2022. Basham didn’t play much this year so he wasn’t a big loss to the league’s best pass rush, by miles, but it did open up the possibility for the Cowboys to add talent to their 53-man roster. Despite the speculation, Dallas didn’t add anyone this week from either the practice squad or the outside.

Surely then, the Cowboys would use the practice-squad elevation allowances to replenish their strength at edge rush, right? Wrong. On Saturday, the Cowboys announced just one practice squad elevation and it was for the offensive line, not the defensive line. Aviante Collins was called up for the second time, using just one of the two allotments. Instead, Dallas chose not to bring up Takk McKinley, signed to the practice squad a few weeks ago, nor anyone else. Instead of the maximum of 55, Dallas is going into the Week 13 battle with the Indianapolis Colts with just 53 players.

Collins will revert to the practice squad on Monday, and Dallas will still have a space open on the active 53-man roster if they choose to meet with any potential free agent wide receivers. *Stares directly at Odell Beckham, Jr.*

For now, here’s a look at the troops eligible to play against the Colts. With only 53 players, Dallas will need to make just five players inactive on Sunday night.

Final Week 13 injury report: Cowboys bug clearing, Colts rule out 2

Dallas seems to be past much of what’s been running through the locker room as the Week 13 tilt approaches. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have been under the weather for the last couple of weeks. What started against the Vikings in Week 11 because a full-blown issue in Week 12 just four days later. Six different Cowboys had injury designations of illness entering the Thursday contest, three of them missing the game. In the eight days since though, things have been getting better to the point where the only two sick players on the injury report in Week 13 were able to practice on a limited basis on Friday.

Meanwhile the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas’ opponent on Sunday night football, have bigger issues than illness. Two key players, one offensive lineman and one defensive back, have been ruled out for the contest. Outside of those two players though, the Colts only gave questionable injury designations to two of the remaining seven players they’ve been tracking this week. Both of those players practiced in full on Friday and everyone else is completely cleared.

For Dallas five of the seven players they’ve been tracking received a questionable status. Here’s a look at the full list of those on the final Week 13 injury report.

3 Keys to Cowboys, Dak Prescott extending 3 different win streaks

The Colts have beaten the AFC’s best and took the top NFC team to the wire. Here’s what Dallas needs to key on to avoid the upset. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys hadn’t played great in their traditional Thanksgiving Day game in a long time. Since the opening of AT&T Stadium they are 5-8 on Thanksgiving, including 3-7 in their last ten games before this season.

They didn’t start the game against the New York Giants strong either, being down at halftime while only scoring seven points. Dallas was able to do what it has often this year though, making the necessary halftime adjustments in order to play better offensively in the second half and pull out another big win. The Cowboys have doubled their points scored in the second half compared to the first half in the 2022 season.

This week Dallas plays their first game against the AFC South, welcoming the Indianapolis Colts to AT&T Stadium for a Sunday night primetime contest. The Cowboys will be look to bring their winning streak on the season to three, their winning streak, their winning streak at home against the Colts to three and their winning streak against Matt Ryan to four.

The Colts have already won a game against the Kansas City Chiefs and played down to the wire against the team with the best record in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles. This will be a battle, here are the keys to making sure the Cowboys are victorious at the final whistle.

Saturday on Sunday night, Taylor-made test among Cowboys-Colts things to know

Things got weird midseason for the Colts, but here are some things to consider ahead of Sunday’s matchup. From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys have gotten things back on track thanks to a dominating win against one of the league’s best teams then taking care of a division rival on Thanksgiving. At 8-3, the Cowboys have a better record than they did after 11 games in last year.

After playing without starting quarterback Dak Prescott for five games, it’s been an impressive campaign for the Cowboys thus far. It looks unlikely they’ll win the NFC East as they did last year, but the team has shown they can play with anyone.

Thanksgiving is thought of as a landmark in an NFL season, a point where teams can evaluate where they are before the stretch run. The Cowboys have to feel good about their prospects for their last six games. Dallas has a few extra days of rest as they prepare to begin the final slate, which begins with the Indianapolis Colts.

Here’s six things to know about the Colts ahead of the Week 13 matchup.

Cowboys without Diggs, Gallup due to illness; Terence Steele also misses Thursday

Cold and flu season continues to wreak havoc as 2 key Cowboys miss practice again. Both participated virtually, hoping to be good by Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys’ mini-bye following their Thanksgiving Day game was supposed to give everyone a chance to rest up and be feeling in top shape heading into December, a time of year when head coach Mike McCarthy has told the team they should be playing their best football.

Despite the extra time, though, two of the team’s key playmakers are still under the weather as the Cowboys prepare to host Indianapolis on Sunday night.

Wide receiver Michael Gallup and cornerback Trevon Diggs missed practice for the second day in a row, both listed on the Thursday practice report as having an “illness.”

Offensive lineman Terence Steele was also a DNP, though his official designation was for “non-injury/personal” reasons after being a full participant on Wednesday.

The team website reported that Steele’s absence was also due to illness.

In his press conference Thursday, McCarthy declined to get into specifics about what has gone through the locker room dating back to Week 11’s matchup in Minnesota.

At one point before the Nov. 24 game versus New York, as many as seven Cowboys defensive players were on the team’s sick list together.

“There are, I think, three different things we’ve been dealing with as far as what’s going around,” the coach told reporters at The Star.

Gallup and Diggs did go virtual on Thursday, in an attempt to stay up to speed in terms of the game plan and in hopes they’ll be feeling better by kickoff against the Colts in primetime.

The Cowboys had considered having the entire team go virtual on Monday, but scrapped that plan the day prior because they felt they had gotten the seasonal bug under control.

McCarthy had expressed hope that things would be back to normal for everyone by Wednesday, until Diggs and Gallup joined the long list of Cowboys who have been hit this cold and flu season.

It’s also worth noting that COVID cases are seeing a spike in many regions of the country, including North Texas. Though the coach wouldn’t give a label to what any of his players are experiencing, he did admit that the past two-plus years have made it somewhat easier for those who may be sick to attend meetings remotely.

“We’re playing the game of mathematics, and we’re just being very cautious,” McCarthy explained. “If a guy is not feeling well, we’re not just saying, ‘Come on in.’ He’s got to be evaluated. Going through the pandemic has obviously been an education for all of us, and I think that experience really serves us well.”

[listicle id=706200]

[listicle id=706187]

[listicle id=706192]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Week 13 injury report: Cowboys still sick, Elliott healed ahead of Colts game

Dallas’ running back is at full health, but new names to the injury report show the Cowboys haven’t shaken the bug just yet. | From @KDDrummondNFL

For the first time since Week 7, Ezekiel Elliott is not on the Cowboys’ practice report. Elliott suffered a hyperextended knee in the win over the Detroit Lions and it forced him to miss the games surrounding Dallas’ Week 9 bye. He returned in Week 11’s win over Minnesota but returned to form in Week 12 when he was the leading rusher with 92 yards on just 16 carries in the win over the New York Giants. Now, Elliott is no longer even listed as having limited participation as Dallas releases their first report for Sunday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

All is not completely well, though. Dallas has two new names joining the list, as the illness that ran through the defensive side of the locker room persists. This week, though, there’s a member of the offense down with the cold, too. Here’s a look at both Dallas and the Colts’ initial injury report for Week 13.

Cowboys DC Dan Quinn previews Colts: slowing Jonathan Taylor, facing Matt Ryan

The defensive coordinator will look for continued improvement from his unit against a QB he knows well who’s prone to giveaways and sacks. | From @ToddBrock24f7

For five and half seasons in Atlanta, Matt Ryan was the quarterback that head coach Dan Quinn tried to put in a position to win, week in and week out.

But when the two reunite at AT&T Stadium this Sunday night, Ryan will be wearing horseshoes on his helmet, and Quinn will be the man designing ways to shut him down and send him home with a loss.

The Cowboys defensive coordinator talked this week about his former passer- now with the Colts- and what it will be like when his current unit squares off against the four-time Pro Bowler and former league MVP.

“I love him. He is a rare and relentless competitor,” Quinn told reporters at The Star in Frisco. “That’s probably one of the first things that you’ll find out about him, being around him for a long time. I describe him like he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He comes across real clean-cut and nice, but he is a tough-ass competitor.”

That toughness has served Ryan well in Indianapolis, as it’s been a rough first year with the 4-7-1 Colts. The 2008 No. 3 draft pick has a QBR score of 44.1, which ranks him 26th in the NFL. He’s thrown 10 interceptions in 10 games (just one pick off the league’s worst total) and is tied for the most fumbles leaguewide. And he’s been sacked 32 times behind an offensive line that’s given up the most sacks in the league this year.

That’s all mouth-watering news for the Cowboys defense, who are allowing a league-low 177.7 passing yards per game, stand seventh in takeaways, and lead the league in quarterback sacks.

But the Colts will likely put a larger emphasis on running the ball against Dallas. Running back Jonathan Taylor is averaging 86.6 yards a contest, fifth-best overall.

Even though the Cowboys kept Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook and the Giants’ Saquon Barkley mostly contained over their last two outings, Quinn knows his unit will now have to line up and prove it again against last year’s rushing champ.

“Absolutely,” he told reporters. “And the reason being, it’s the speed. Taylor’s a bigger back, so you wouldn’t think he has this kind of speed. But he is a strong-size back. So the inside run, if you just miss your fit or miss your angle, you can really be vulnerable. I think you saw that against the Raiders on the long one that he had where if he gets out to the edge and he can split it, he’s got the speed to go the distance. That was true from his college days, and it’s kind of carried all the way through. He is a tough back that has real good speed. This will be our third one in a row of guys that can really make the big plays.”

But since the Green Bay debacle, Quinn’s defensive players have been putting a renewed focus on everybody simply doing their job and not trying to do too much. The result has been better performances from several of the unit’s stars.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was one of those singled out by Quinn.

“I think one of the things that gets overlooked sometimes is how violent he is in the run game,” the coordinator explained, citing Lawrence’s knack for chasing down ball carriers from behind and forcing fumbles with a devastating punch.

“I just think staying within the system has allowed him to really make some of these plays for us.”

But corralling Taylor will no doubt require a group effort, and the Cowboys of late are getting support across the defense.

Cornerback Trevon Diggs, for example. Last season’s interceptions king has been instrumental over the past few outings in offering run support.

Quinn recalled one recent play where a jet sweep was run toward Diggs’s side of the field. Rather than zero in on the ball carrier, Diggs took on the blocking tight end and held the edge, knowing that Micah Parsons and Donovan Wilson were closing in to snuff out the play.

“What a great example of trusting one another,” Quinn offered. “‘I’ll do my job so these guys can do theirs.’ So some of his game doesn’t show up on the stat sheet right now in terms of the volume of interceptions, but he is playing better today than he was a year ago today, and our defense is playing better.”

As proof, Quinn compared the defense’s tackling in this season’s two-game series versus the Giants.

“If you remember, going back to our first game,” Quinn said, “we had nine missed tackles when we played them at their spot. We had two this game, so that was a big improvement.”

And with the home stretch of the regular season about to get underway, it’s about ignoring an opponent’s record. It’s about not getting distracted by a reunion with an old teammate who’s now wearing enemy colors. It’s about buckling down when one of the best in business is looking to run free. It’s about continuing to improve.

“I just kind of reminded them we’re getting into December football,” Quinn said of his message to the group. “No time to sit back and smell the roses. This is the time to get it on and accept new challenges and try to go smash it. So that’s what we expect to do.”

[listicle id=706116]

[listicle id=706113]

[listicle id=706105]

[lawrence-newsletter]