Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images Billy Joe DuPree is making sure to help others in his work well after his playing days for the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys have had a number of people play for them over their storied history, so many so that it is difficult to stand out among the bunch. One of the most impressive players in franchise history who deserves more attention is former tight end Billy Joe DuPree. He was a staple for the organization during the run that they had in the 1970s. DuPree was an incredible weapon in the passing game who also served as a fundamental blocking piece as the Cowboys run game took off. Quite simply, he is one of the more important players in franchise history. On Tuesday I was fortunate enough to have some time with Mr. DuPree to discuss his memories of playing for the Cowboys, what it was like playing on Thanksgiving Day specifically and the work that he is doing these days with the Pro Football Retired Players Association. You can listen to our interview below. Throughout his life, a point he emphasized in our conversation, Mr. DuPree had a giving spirit and always sought to help those less fortunate than him. It is qualities like this that make rooting for our favorite players even more fun, when they are exemplary humans in addition to talented athletes. The PFRPA is a champion for retired NFL players and works to ensure that retired players, who gave so much to the game, have the support that they need to take care of their health and well-being. Additionally, the PFRPA offers its members various benefits and programs (including dental and vision care) and is always looking for new ways to support retired NFL players and enhance their lives after retirement. You can visit their website right here. Our thanks to Mr. DuPree for the time!

Peter Casey-Imagn Images The Cowboys injury report for Tuesday The Dallas Cowboys will host the New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day. A big part of the game will be the injuries. Let’s focus on the latest injury reports for Dallas and New York. Dallas #Cowboys / New York #Giants Practice Injury Report – News on Martin, Diggs, Ferguson pic.twitter.com/qE4azGVUoe — fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) November 26, 2024 Not practicing for a second consecutive day for the Cowboys were Jake Ferguson (concussion), Eric Kendricks (groin/shoulder), Marshawn Kneeland (knee), Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder), and Asim Richards (ankle). Ferguson is a long shot to play on a short week, so his absence isn’t surprising. No Martin and Richards on Tuesday puts the Cowboys’ offensive line in a dubious position for Thursday, but we’ll see if either can practice tomorrow. Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) was downgraded to a DNP today as well as Caelen Carson (shoulder). Among those limited for Dallas were Cooper Rush (knee), CeeDee Lamb (back/foot), and Tyler Smith (ankle/knee). There’s no indication that they are at risk of missing Thursday’s game, but tomorrow should provide clarity. For New York, quarterback Tommy DeVito was added to the injury report with a forearm injury. However, he did practice and was listed as a limited participant. Also limited for the Giants were linebacker Micah McFadden, (thumb/heel) Evan Neal (hip), and cornerback Tae Banks (rib). Not practicing for New York was Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), and edge rusher Azeez Ojulari (toe) who will move to IR. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (knee) was upgraded to a full participant.

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images Mike McCarthy out-dueled Dan Quinn last week. It’s been a tough year for Mike McCarthy. Nobody is going to feel overly sorry for the coach who owns a Super Bowl ring, has a street named after him in Green Bay, and is very well compensated for his job as the head coach of the most valuable sports franchise in the world. But it would be an understatement to say that 2024 has been unkind to McCarthy. It started with the embarrassing loss in the Wild Card round to the Packers. Getting ripped apart by your former team is tough to stomach. Then, Jerry Jones decided to hold onto McCarthy for another year, but refused to extend his contract, making McCarthy a lame duck coach. Around the same time, McCarthy lost his revered defensive coordinator to a division rival, as Dan Quinn took the head job for the Commanders. What followed was an offseason full of moves that screamed “setup.” It’s hard to view the Cowboys’ moves since that playoff game as ones you’d expect from a team doing everything in its power to win now. If anything, it looked like a team who was already preparing for a new coach in 2025. It’s not entirely surprising that the Cowboys stumbled out of the gate, and even less surprising that they continued to do so after Dak Prescott was lost for the season. Last Monday night, the Cowboys hung with the Texans for three quarters before Houston pulled away and delivered the Cowboys their fifth straight loss. It was their longest losing streak since 2015. Then came a road trip to face Quinn and a Commanders team filled with former Cowboys. Washington was favored to win by 10.5 points, the second-largest point spread of the week. It was a reflection of how bad the Cowboys have been this year and how good the Commanders have been with Quinn in charge. Once the game kicked off, though, none of that mattered. McCarthy’s offense was up first, and he had a script that worked beautifully. Cooper Rush was dealing, mostly to CeeDee Lamb, and the Cowboys were in field goal range after just three plays. A drop from Jalen Tolbert on third down forced a field goal, which was inexplicably blocked. The next drive also saw the offense firing on all cylinders, with several strong runs from Rico Dowdle bringing them right to the edge of the red zone. But a pitch to Dowdle on third and short got blown up, bringing up another field goal try. This time, Brandon Aubrey just flat out missed the kick. That was the theme for much of this game: the offense was moving the ball, but found a way to shoot themselves in the foot, whether it be a drop or a missed kick or a penalty that wiped out a first down. When the fourth quarter came around, though the offense stepped up. They scored 10 points on consecutive drives, which featured Luke Schoonmaker getting wide open in the endzone. Special teams scored the final two touchdowns of the day for Dallas, taking pressure off the offense, but that doesn’t erase how good McCarthy’s unit played. They averaged 5.4 yards per play – Dallas is averaging an even five on the year – and posted a success rate of 45.5%, which was the 11th highest of any team this week. More shocking was their 55.3% success rate on all dropbacks, which ranked third in the league. Getting that kind of production and efficiency with Rush under center and playing behind an offensive line that was forced to start backups at both guard spots is nothing to sneeze at. It was a reminder of how good McCarthy can be – the coach has quite the record with backup quarterbacks, mind you – and the fact that it came against Quinn made it a little more satisfying, even if he won’t admit it. This game won’t change much, of course. McCarthy is still all but guaranteed to be let go after the season despite what Jerry Jones said, and the Cowboys are all but guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the first time since McCarthy’s first year in Dallas. And there’s still a compelling argument to be made that a change in leadership is necessary. That said, bad coaches don’t win Super Bowls, and they sure don’t win 171 regular season games, as McCarthy has. He may not be the coach that will help this franchise return to its glory days, but McCarthy has always been a good coach. For a brief, fleeting moment in what’s been a disaster of a season, McCarthy got the chance to remind everyone of what he’s capable of.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Cowboys season took an unexpected turn on Sunday Things were rolling along in a normal fashion. We, as fans of the Dallas Cowboys, found ourselves in a comfortable rhythm of watching the team lose each week and then we went about our business. There was an inevitable sense that this was our fate except for the occasional game against other duds like the New York Giants or the Carolina Panthers. The most important thing was watching our draft position for 2025. Then the Cowboys pulled a stunner and beat the Washington Commanders. Suddenly the mood was lightened and there was a glimmer of optimism. Considering the Cowboys play the 2-9 Giants, the 4-7 Cincinnati Bengals, and the 3-8 Carolina Panthers coming up, thoughts of the Cowboys somehow reaching a 7-7 record and then anything could happen in a playoff chase began to percolate in the corners of the internet. There has been plenty of debate about fans rooting for a tank job versus rooting for wins. We know that the players and coaches won’t be tanking, they just aren’t wired to do that. But as fans, we get to choose. So after our standard confidence in the franchise question, we wanted to know your thoughts on what you want to happen for the rest of the 2024 season. Would you rather the team tank and lose for draft position, or would you rather they win, establish some momentum heading into the offseason, and not completely fracture the franchise? There is no wrong or right here, just opinions. Hit the poll and let us know in the comments. Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Dallas Cowboys fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Please take our survey

Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Sunday was a good day, but it is important to not make it more than what it was. The slide is over! The Dallas Cowboys stunned everyone, especially their fans, by pulling out a wild, record-setting win against their NFC East rival, the Washington Commanders. For one game, we can smile a little, especially at some of the bizarre twists and turns on special teams. It hardly means that they are somehow going to go on a tear and claw their way back into playoff contention, or that Mike McCarthy is going to resurrect his future in Dallas. It’s actually hard to come up with what we should take from the game. There is always the tanking for a 2025 draft pick angle thrown in just to confuse things. So for a change, our David Howman and Tom Ryle are going to remind us what the real meaning of the season is. No, not the holidays. They are talking about the NFL season. Tom: Let’s take a big picture view of things. The NFL is, from the first game into September until the Lombardi Trophy is handed out in February, the most popular form of entertainment in the country. And with the draft, free agency, training camps, and preseason, the impact of professional football extends even further. Well, if you are looking for entertainment, it is hard to find a more wildly fun game than the win over the Commanders. There was an element of comedy as all the kickers seemed to have moments that were the equivalent of pratfalls. And the drama lasted until the final seconds as the Cowboys almost blew it before pulling it all out in the end. I actually laughed out loud at multiple times. Some were wry and sarcastic, but others were just plain joy at the humor inherent in things like not one but two kickoffs returned for scores. There is always an element of disappointment for the losing team, but when your favorite squad pulls off an almost bizarre win like this one, it should leave a smile on your face, at least until the next game. David: Yeah, this was one of those games where you could replace the audio with a continuous loop of Yakety Sax and it would be just as entertaining, if not more so. Special teams pratfalls with a ton of punts sandwiched in between and then an explosion of scoring in the fourth quarter made for a hilarious comedy. That it came against so many former Cowboys playing/coaching for a division rival made it all the more sweet. It does introduce a fun fantasy, though. The Cowboys looked genuinely good in this game: Cooper Rush looked comfortable, Rico Dowdle was running hard, and the defense shut down a really talented offense until they started playing soft coverages in the fourth. The Cowboys’ next four opponents all have losing records. What are the odds that they sit at 8-7 on December 29 when they waltz into Philadelphia for a rematch against the Eagles? This is made even more interesting by the Commanders’ current slide. Suddenly, second place in the NFC East seems a bit more attainable. There’s still likely only one Wild Card spot up for grabs after the Vikings and Packers, but there’s only two NFC teams with a winning record currently after the top six. I’m not saying, I’m just saying…. Tom: Oh, stop! Don’t get your hopes up for this season because of one game. The best way to approach this is without any expectations or real optimism and just hope they can put some more shows on the field. But what you can feel good about is that we may finally be seeing this roster start to get its act together, which means the future may not be as dismal as we feared. Josh Butler had a breakout game. Luke Schoonmaker looked good, DeMarvion Overshown is the future at linebacker and Eric Kendricks may be worth retaining, Chauncey Golston has a couple of big moments, and that patchwork offensive line was about as good as anything we’ve seen all season. Even Mazi Smith had a highlight or two. Those are good signs for the rest of 2024. What’s exciting is that there may be more to build on for next season than we expected coming into this game. I think a new coaching staff is inevitable, but now this may be a much more attractive destination for anyone who thinks he can deal with the owner. It’s time to look forward and not fear we are going to see a team stuck at the bottom of the NFC. My best advice, though, is to remember this is a game. It doesn’t affect the weather or the price of eggs, so just relax and enjoy. Especially as long as things like KaVontae Turpin going full psychopath keep happening, as Jourdan Lewis put it. Football is supposed to be fun, and after five weeks of misery, we got a full dose of pure entertainment. David: I’m with you that a coaching change is happening one way or another, but I would love to see Mike McCarthy go on a run after this and set himself up to get the bag in coaching free agency. Taking Cooper Rush to the edge of playoff contention and then being shown the door would be a hilarious indictment on this organization, though the way McCarthy was set up to fail this offseason was already a massive black eye on the way this team runs things. Which is what I keep coming back to in the wake of this win. It’s been easy to direct criticism at the coaching staff during the losing streak, and some of it was earned, but it’s hard to look at this roster – they played this game without their top five players in cap hit – and argue that things should be any better. If

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images The latest and greatest Dallas Cowboys holiday week news. New angle of KaVontae Turpin TD – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat This is worth watching from every possible angle. put him in a blender : #DALvsWAS on FOX : Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LvklCbYJ1e https://t.co/9LQVNrbA55 pic.twitter.com/JOSoWkUOSq — Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 24, 2024 It is not an exaggeration to call that one of the best kick returns of all-time. Turpin’s ability to improvise in a pinch after letting the ball bounce through his legs is so impressive. So many return specialists wouldn’t know what to do, but Turpin slowly baited the approaching gunners and uncorked a video-game spin move to forge a running lane. He took out six Commanders, but All-Pro special teamer Jeremy Reaves was his primary victim. If there was any doubt that Turpin is the best return specialist in the NFL, that conversation should be put to rest now. Every possible angle? Here’s one more, whoop whoop! .@dallascowboys @Commanders @KaVontaeTurpin @STG_Yeh1 back to back KOR TD. Turpin with alot of whoop whoop. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/Tx08pgNflW — Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 25, 2024 Also this: KaVontae Turpin reached a top speed of 21.35 mph on his 99-yard kick return touchdown, the 3rd-fastest top speed on a kick off return this season. Turpin is now responsible for 3 of the 20 fastest speeds by a ball carrier this season.#DALvsWAS | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/GprYimIGaT — Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 24, 2024 NFL Week 12 grades: Cowboys earn ‘A-’ after shocking win – John Breech, CBSSports A look back at the players that stepped up against Washington. When you’re forced to start your backup quarterback, you need other players on the team to come up big, and that’s exactly what the Cowboys got on Sunday. From Rico Dowdle to CeeDee Lamb to KaVontae Turpin to Juanyeh Thomas, the Cowboys had a lot of heroes in this game. Both Turpin and Thomas scored on kick return touchdowns, which both came in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys defense looked like a brick wall for the first three quarters before struggling some during a fourth quarter where Washington put up 223 yards. Cooper Rush also deserves a lot of credit for the win: The Cowboys QB played smart football while throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys might not be a playoff contender, but they just proved they can beat playoff contenders, which could help them play spoiler down the stretch. 2025 Super Bowl odds – Staff, Foxsports Feeling particularly optimistic about the Cowboys today? Here are the 10 teams with the longest Super Bowl odds. Cowboys undrafted player had a career day in week 12 – Shane Taylor, Inside The Star If nothing else, the Cowboys are doing a great job evaluating what they have on the roster down the stretch of this tough season. Josh Butler was picked on by the Commanders’ passing game all day. But in the end, Butler held his own, and then some. He was credited with a team-high 12 tackles. He also had a sack on Jayden Daniels and had three pass deflections. He is under contract until the end of 2025. That bolds [sic] well for a secondary that could be good if healthy next season with Diggs, Bland and Butler. Leaving Lewis in the slot. One thing each NFL team has to be thankful for entering Week 13 – Jeffri Chadiha, NFL.com Even returning home for Thanksgiving with a win, this Cowboys season has not gone to plan at all and changes are on the way. A harsh dose of reality. It will be interesting to see how Cowboys owner Jerry Jones approaches this offseason, because this year has made it clear that this franchise needs some major changes. It’s no longer worth talking about those three consecutive 12-win seasons before this year or what could’ve been if this current team hadn’t been hammered by injuries to stars like quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Micah Parsons. The Cowboys have suffered four losses of 20 points or more this season, all at home. They pulled off a major upset in Sunday’s 34-26 win over Washington, but this team isn’t about to turn things around. The offense was bereft of weapons before Prescott underwent season-ending surgery for a torn hamstring, and the defense has been inept. There’s a lot of work to be done in Big D. This won’t be an easy fix. NFL Thanksgiving Games: History, traditions and best moments – Todd Archer, ESPN.com Veteran right guard Zack Martin talks about the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving. Cowboys guard Zack Martin has grown accustomed to playing games on “Monday Night Football” and “Sunday Night Football,” but there’s something different about playing on Thanksgiving. Martin grew up in Indianapolis and starred at Notre Dame before the Cowboys made him a first-round pick in 2014, and he would always watch the Lions play the early game and the Cowboys play later on the holiday. “It may be different to the outside world, but for us I think it’s different because it’s just that tradition that you know the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving,” Martin said. “I didn’t grow up a Cowboys fan, but I always knew they played on Thanksgiving, so coming down here, being part of that is pretty cool.” After the game, the Martins will eat at AT&T Stadium before returning home to relax. Their traditional Thanksgiving meal comes on Friday. “For me, [the best part of the game] is just being able to have my family and everyone down for Thanksgiving,” Martin said. “Normally teams would miss that because they’re practicing during the week, but we get to play and then have some time with family and friends.” — Archer Unheralded OL studs outplay Cowboys duds in upset victory over Commanders – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire The Cowboys won on the road as ten-point underdogs with a backup QB and down two starting offensive linemen. That really happened. The

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Who wins tonight… Baltimore or Los Angeles? The Baltimore Ravens play the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. FanDuel has the Ravens as 2.5-point favorites over the Chargers. Final score prediction: Chargers 27 – Ravens 21. Check out FanDuel for all of your NFL betting needs. This is an open thread for game chat.