For weeks, the discourse surrounding the Dallas Cowboys — at least, their players and coaches — has taken a somewhat sympathetic tone. The owner and general manager only recently commanded the spotlight with his shenanigans but the injury bug was a primary culprit prior to that.
Sam Williams was carted off in training camp. DaRon Bland began the season on injured reserve. Brandin Cooks, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland joined him in the ensuing weeks. Micah Parsons went out the same day as Lawrence. Eric Kendricks missed the last game before the bye week.
If there’s one week the Cowboys won’t generate much sympathy for their injuries, this is the one. As they come out of the bye week, the Cowboys are on the mend. Some key players are nearing a return. Meanwhile, their opponent this week is going through the ringer on the injury report.
San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey has more trips to Germany to see a specialist than regular-season snaps this season. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s season ended Sunday with a torn ACL. Deebo Samuel is dealing with pneumonia and doesn’t have a timetable for return. Tight end George Kittle is day-to-day with a foot injury.
Between the Cowboys’ defense and 49ers’ offense, it’s a battle of wounded units. However, the Cowboys have a bit more optimism on their side.
Cowboys DE/LB Micah Parsons (ankle) on how he’s feeling: “Good, man. Rehabbing. Doing everything I possibly can to get back on the field.”
“It’s still in the air” if he’ll be able to play Sunday night against San Francisco. It will be a collective decision made by him, the…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 21, 2024
Parsons spoke to reporters Monday and said his status to play Sunday in San Francisco is “still in the air.” Parsons avoided IR following his ankle injury against the New York Giants in Week 4 in hopes that he wouldn’t miss four games. Parsons has missed two games and said he wasn’t really close to being in the conversation to play over a week ago against the Detroit Lions. The bye week came at a good time for him.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do physically,” Parsons said. “It’s just more (that) they want to make sure I’m at my best. They kind of know what my best looks like. I just got to keep working and showing it. They’re monitoring the situation.”
The Cowboys’ training staff will have the final say but Parsons’ comments and demeanor make it seem that a return is close, whether it comes in San Francisco this weekend or in Atlanta the following Sunday. Parsons is one of the best defensive players and a premier pass rusher in the NFL. His return will be a welcomed boost. However, unless things change around Parsons, Dallas can’t expect to be rescued just by his presence.
Parsons was injured late in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the Giants. Through the first four weeks, the Cowboys allowed quarterbacks an average time to throw of 3.01 seconds. In the two weeks without Parsons, that number is 3.07 seconds. Both figures are bottom 10 in the league. The pressure rate with Parsons was 34.8 percent while the pressure rate without his is a virtually identical 34.9 percent.
Obviously, there is the difference in sample size as well as the quality of competition. But the overarching message is clear: Parsons simply returning isn’t going to solve the issues that have plagued the Cowboys’ defense.
“I just think at this point, the only things, and opinions, that matter should be the person that’s next to you and the person you’re going to war with,” Parsons said. “You just got to keep it internally to yourself. Everyone wishes they had a super team. Everyone wishes they were on the right side of a 6-0, 5-1, whatever your record may be but we’re at an even slate right now (3-3) and we’ve got a great opportunity to go win a game this weekend and keep striving to get better, because there’s nothing that’s going to save us.”
Parsons’ point was that the players already in the building need to figure it out. He said the Cowboys need to “get healthy and get everyone playing good football.” Aside from Parsons, the defense could be aided soon by the season debut of All-Pro cornerback Bland. The Cowboys opened Bland’s ramp-up window almost two weeks ago and have 21 days to get him on the active roster. Bland practiced for two days going into the game against the Lions but missed the final practice of the week and was not activated. He could be ready to go against the 49ers.
Bland’s return will help the secondary, which also lost his replacement, rookie Caelen Carson, to an injury the last few weeks. Carson is on track to return soon but there’s a clear disparity between the playing levels of Bland and Carson. The Cowboys have been lacking turnovers and physicality in the secondary. Bland checks both those boxes.
The Cowboys are hoping to get Kendricks back in the middle of the defense after he missed the game against the Lions. Head coach Mike McCarthy said there will be more clarity on Kendricks’ availability as the week progresses.
Dallas is trending in the right direction on the injury front, which isn’t a feeling to describe much of anything with the team in 2024. Aside from Bland, the issue is the Cowboys were quite healthy when they got thrashed by the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, and then again by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. That’s why the expected returns of so many players who were part of those losses hasn’t garnered much positive momentum, even as a wounded opponent awaits.
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The front office has proclaimed that no outside moves to upgrade the roster are in consideration at this time. The players on the roster — healthy or not — haven’t show they are capable of getting the job done.
The lone glimmer of hope?
The Cowboys have shown a capability of turning things around after a bye week under McCarthy. They are 3-1 after the bye week since 2020 with the only loss coming in overtime at Green Bay in 2022, which was followed by four consecutive wins.
(Top photo of Micah Parsons: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)
