Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Week 4 should be a ton of fun. Week 4 of the regular season is here. Today we take a look at this week’s slate from a gambling standpoint and give you some of our best picks. All lines/odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Favorite Of The Week Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images Cincinnati Bengals -4.5 (-128) at Carolina Panthers The Bengals have gotten off to a dreadful start this season. Cincinnati lost its first three games, including losing to two of the worst teams in the NFL from last season: the New England Patriots and Washington Commanders. As bad as things have been, the Bengals’ offense has started to find its way. Last week against Washington, Cincinnati scored 33 points and recorded 436 yards of total offense. They rank fourth in the NFL in Offensive EPA/Play (0.123) and third in the league in Offensive Success Rate. (51.1%) This week they get to face a Panthers team that has struggled on defense. Carolina has given up 47,26, and 22 points in their three games and has allowed all three of their opponents to record over 325 yards of offense. This may seem like a square pick, but it will not matter. Cincinnati’s offense is going to put up plenty of points on Sunday, giving me confidence they will cover the 4.5-point spread. Underdog Of The Week Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1.5 (-115) As great as it would be to see Philadelphia drop a game, I promise this is not just an anti-Eagles pick. The Eagles escaped New Orleans with a win in Week 3, but nothing they did on the offensive side of the ball should inspire much confidence moving forward. To make matters worse for the Eagles, wide receiver DeVonta Smith has been ruled out with a concussion, and wideout A.J. Brown and tackle Lane Johnson are both questionable. Even if Brown and Johnson do play, they will be nowhere close to 100%. You could make a solid argument that Smith, Brown, and Johnson are three of the best seven or eight players on the Eagles’ roster. They’ll face a tough task this week going up against a Tampa Bay team that is looking for a bounce-back performance. The Buccaneers are much better than they looked in last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos. This Sunday we’re going to see them look more like the team that beat the Lions in Week Two. Tampa Bay is getting 47% of the bets and 69% of the money, giving me even more confidence in this pick. Give me the Buccaneers to cover and win the game outright. Three-Team Moneyline Parlay of The Week Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images Bengals ML/Falcons ML/Cardinals ML +265 ($10 pays $36.50) We saw the Saints get exposed for what they really are last week against the Eagles, and the Falcons are going to continue to prove they were a fluke this Sunday. Atlanta should be able to slow down the Saints’ passing attack and put up enough points to win this game. Another team we are going to see come crashing down to earth this Sunday is the Washington Commanders. Arizona is favored by 3.5 points despite Washington’s huge upset win on Monday night. That should tell you all you need to know. Ten Player Props of The Week Photo by Gus Stark/Getty Images 1) Jalen Hurts OVER 0.5 Interceptions (-110) 2) Joe Burrow OVER 24.5 completions (-108) 3) Joe Burrow UNDER 0.5 interceptions (-114) 4) CJ Stroud OVER 7.5 rushing yards (-122) 5) J.K. Dobbins OVER 57.5 rushing yards (-113) 6) Roschon Johnson OVER 30.5 rushing yards (-113) 7) D.J. Moore anytime TD scorer (+220) 8) Garrett Wilson anytime TD scorer (+150) 9) Marvin Harrison Jr. anytime TD scorer (+100) 10) Marvin Harrison Jr. 100+ receiving yards (+230)

Brad Penner-Imagn Images Your Sunday morning Cowboys news. ‘Will The Real RB1 Please Stand Up?’ Are Cowboys Changing Depth Chart? -Austin Givan, Athlon Sports Has a new runner emerged atop the running back depth chart for Dallas? Rico Dowdle, originally expected to share carries as part of a committee, has emerged as the Cowboys’ lead back. Over the first four games of the season, Dowdle has carried the ball 34 times for 134 yards but has yet to find the end zone. Despite his lack of touchdowns, his production and workload have made him the go-to option in the backfield. Ezekiel Elliott, once the face of the Cowboys’ rushing attack, has seen limited success this season. With 81 yards on 24 carries and one rushing touchdown, Elliott has struggled to regain his previous form. This decline has paved the way for Dowdle’s rise, but the overall rushing output remains an issue. Receiver CeeDee Lamb is third in rushing for the Cowboys… Yes, you read that correctly, Lamb is third in rushing with 6 carries for 33 yards and holds the longest rushing play for the cowboys [sic] with 12 yards. Care to guess who is behind the receiver? Its’ [sic] quarterback Dak Prescott who has seven carries for 21 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. As the Cowboys prepare for a 10-day break before their matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they will face an even tougher challenge. The Steelers boast one of the league’s most dominant defenses, allowing just 71.3 rushing yards per game and holding opponents to a mere 8.7 points per game. ‘Mazi was dominant’: How Smith’s development prepared him for best Cowboys outing yet – Calvin Watkins, DMN The Cowboys’ patience with Smith seems to be paying off. Coach Mike McCarthy said Smith’s efforts against the Giants was his best as a pro. The box score says Smith had three tackles and a tackle for loss while playing 26 snaps. Pro Football Focus, an independent website that grades players, gave Smith an 88.4 rating for his overall defense and an 86.6 for his run defense in the victory over the Giants. NextGen Stats credited Smith with three stuffs, meaning he stopped three running plays for no yards. Those watching the game saw Smith split double-teams, a requirement for his position, push back Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. on several plays and hold up blockers as linebackers filled the running lanes to make plays. “Mazi was dominant, bro,” uber pass rusher Micah Parsons said. “I told you guys Mazi keeps getting better and better. I always tell him it always starts and ends with him.” In the buildup to the Giants game, several defensive players made note of working on the small details of the game. For a defensive tackle, that meant getting a solid base in their stances so they could get a good push at the line of scrimmage. That occurred Thursday night. “It’s a pretty big deal,” Smith said of the run-defense improvements. “But it don’t matter if you do it for one game like we did [in season opener] for the Browns. Then you saw what happened. Now, we just got to keep it flowing, going in the right direction. You don’t want to go back.” High 5: Reasons to be optimistic after first month – Kyle Youmans, DallasCowboys.com With so much gloomy news, let’s look at some positives. 3) More Snaps for DeMarvion Overshown – Last preseason, losing DeMarvion Overshown was an incalculable blow to the Cowboys defensive unit. This year, he gets to turn his fortunes around by elevating his play. So far, Overshown has carved out a bigger role on defense, by showing speed, athleticism, and a high level of effort. All things that are building trust with his new defensive coordinator and the peers around him. If he can continue to elevate his game, just as he did against the Giants in Week 4, Overshown could become a crucial part of Mike Zimmer’s defensive unit and a key to overall team success. 2) DaRon Bland Eyeing Return – Before the season was even underway, Dallas lost one of their top defenders as DaRon Bland was placed on Injured Reserve with a stress fracture in his left foot. Mike McCarthy alluded to the “mini bye” that begins this weekend as the original target for more information around Bland’s return. Either way, it appears he’s not far off from making a much-needed return to the cornerback position after missing the first four games. Cowboys Rumors: Haason Reddick Trade Isn’t ‘Viable’ amid Parsons, Lawrence Injuries – Joseph Zucker, Bleacher Report Amidst the needed to bolster their pass rush, here’s one trade that doesn’t look like it will happen. Acquiring disgruntled edge-rusher Haason Reddick “isn’t a viable option” for the Dallas Cowboys amid their current injury crunch, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Reddick continues to hold out for a new contract from the New York Jets and he hasn’t suited up for the team as a result. That might’ve led some Cowboys fans to wonder whether he might be a target with Micah Parsons (high-ankle sprain) and DeMarcus Lawrence (midfoot sprain) battling injuries. Fowler cited the cost to the Cowboys as the reason why a Reddick trade wouldn’t work. The two-time Pro Bowler has a $14.3 million base salary for 2024. While Dallas has more than enough salary cap space to absorb that figure, a long-term extension probably isn’t feasible. Quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb recently signed massive contracts, and Parsons is the next in line since he can become a free agent in 2026. If Reddick is willing to end his holdout and suit up for the Cowboys without a new contract, then the situation is a little different. Considering how much money he’s losing, the Jets or another team can try to call his bluff at some point. The 30-year-old has hit double digits in sacks in each of the last four seasons. Even with how much his

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Cowboys may have won on Thursday night, but they still feel like a team with a lot of issues. With their Week 4 win over the Giants, the Dallas Cowboys preserved a far more palatable 2-2 record for the first quarter of their season. But while that record superficially says they’re an average team, the truth of how we got here says otherwise. This doesn’t feel like a .500 team and the next few games could make that clear on every level. Apologies to Bill Parcells, but in this case the record doesn’t really tell the story about who the Cowboys are. Even in Thursday night’s victory we saw Dallas make poor game-management decisions, fail to execute consistently on offense, and get worked by New York’s passing. That opponent wasn’t good enough to make us pay with a loss, but it doesn’t change that Dallas’ performance would’ve resulted in defeat against the majority of NFL teams. Oddly enough, the Cowboys have won their two road games and lost two at home. Those victories were against two of the worst teams in the league right now. While Dallas bullied Cleveland in Week 1, thanks largely to several injuries across the Browns’ offensive line, they hardly looked dominant in New York. Even the lowly Giants could’ve won that game with better quarterback play and a more competent officiating crew. Meanwhile, Dallas’ home losses have been far more revealing. The Saints exposed the Cowboys’ defensive weaknesses and negated their strengths with a smart strategic attack. The Ravens didn’t have to do anything fancy, just overpowering Dallas with their run game and Lamar Jackson’s athletic gifts. For the most part, both Baltimore and New Orleans did what they wanted when they wanted. For the last three weeks, the Cowboys have consistently looked outcoached. When CeeDee Lamb isn’t getting it done with his superstar ability, average defensive backs are able to shut down Dallas’ other receivers because routes are predictable and uninspired. Defensively, the Cowboys just gave up 23 catches to New York’s two most predictable targets in Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson. Again, a better team than the Giants would’ve beaten the Cowboys Thursday night. And better teams are on the way with Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Philadelphia making up Dallas’ next five opponents. Dodging a 1-3 record with this last win may have felt good for the moment, but nobody will care if Dallas is 2-7 by midseason. Even if you were a loud decrier of the Cowboys’ offseason decisions, you probably didn’t expect them to be this weakened to start the year. Granted, we didn’t know DaRon Bland would be out. But his absence has nothing to do with the lack of offensive cohesion or the issues on the defensive front. Some players have surprisingly regressed while others aren’t taking the next step forward. Even if changing from Dan Quinn to Mike Zimmer was naturally going to cause shifts on defense, so far it feels like it’s made some guys worse without elevating others. Right now the sum feels lesser than its parts, and that’s only going to get uglier with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence likely missing time. The hardest thing about all of this is the reality that there’s not much to do about it at this point. We have the players we have, so now it’s up to Zimmer, Mike McCarthy, and Brian Schottenheimer to come up with better ways to utilize them. Maybe there’s some hope of that on defense, where we saw marked improvement from Mazi Smith in New York and another exciting display from DeMarvion Overshown. But on offense, it feels like we’re now asking McCarthy and Schottenheimer to adapt in ways they may not be capable of. If this feels like the way someone would talk after a loss rather than a win, that’s kind of the whole point. Dallas won that last game for little other reason than because the New York Giants are one of the worst teams in the NFL. All things considered since Week 1, you could argue that Dallas is much closer to being 0-4 than 2-2 based on what we’ve seen so far. We’ve been lucky to have two cupcakes on the schedule to start the year, but the next several teams are going to make us eat our veggies. Unless something miraculous happens during this 10-day break, the upcoming schedule isn’t going to taste good.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images We took a look at Thursday night’s Dallas Cowboys win and where certain things fit into franchise history. You are likely aware that Dak Prescott won his 13th consecutive start for the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Giants on Thursday night. This type of thing has become numb to us over the years (years!), but that does not change how impressive it is. Dallas has beaten New York 14 of the last 15 times that they have played (the 2020 finale ruined a perfect streak) which is certainly historic. But you have heard that as noted. What kind of history haven’t you heard about the Cowboys’ performance on Thursday night? Every week we take a look at the game and run it through the incredible services that our friends at Stathead and Pro Football Reference provide to see where things stand with some historical context. Jump in the DeLorean. You’re about to see some serious you know what. A performance like that from the run defense had not been seen in some time On the night the Giants had 26 rushing yards. This in and of itself is pretty wild. But what is particularly insane about this mark is that they had 24 carries. Read that again! It is unbelievable how horrendous the production was for New York on the ground. This was only the 10th time in the last almost 50 years (49 to be precise) that a team had 26 or fewer yards on at least 24 attempts. Shout out Mazi Smith. It was a unique win to say the least Obviously the subject of the run game has been a popular one for the Cowboys, and for not exactly great reasons. Dallas has been struggling to run the ball and similarly struggling to stop opponents from doing so. This is partly what made the above point so incredible. The Cowboys ultimately had 80 yards on the ground themselves, but because New York dominated time of possession (which again is wild given how little production they had on the ground) they held the ball for under 25 minutes. Dallas only scored 20 points on top of all that and that’s because one of their two touchdowns was a 55-yard score from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb. It was only the 11th time in franchise history in which the Cowboys won a game within these particular thresholds. It is hard to do. The Cowboys defense made sure the Giants made NFL history As mentioned, having 26 or fewer rushing yards in a game is pretty uncommon. Doing it in a game where you have the ball for over 35 minutes sounds impossible. It almost is. This was the third time ever that this has happened. Notably it was the first time that the team in question (in this case the Giants) lost. It was also the first time that the team in question did it at home. If you think you/we feel bad about the Cowboys, just think about that. The rushing performance was nice from Dallas, but they are still in poor company On the Cowboys side of things there were 80 rushing yards to be had overall, but we are still talking about an all-time bad group on the ground. Dallas has 301 yards on the ground through the first four games of the season. This is the fourth-fewest amount of rushing yards the Cowboys have ever had through the first four games of any season. Incidentally all four years here are in the Jerry Jones era of ownership. CeeDee Lamb has been scoring from downtown a lot As noted, the Cowboys’ WR1 had a 55-yard touchdown in this contest. Just two weeks ago he and Dak Prescott hooked up for a 65-yard score. It is unlikely, not impossible, that Lamb will ever outdo his career long touchdown reception of 92 yards that came in the penultimate week of the regular season last year. Interestingly though, his two touchdowns this year are now his second- and third-longest of his entire career with the latter coming on Thursday night. It is not a secret that the Cowboys offense has been struggling and two of their touchdowns have literally been among the longest of Lamb’s career. They have to improve there. CeeDee Lamb is now in the top 10 of Dallas Cowboys receiving touchdowns The score that Lamb had on Thursday night was his 34th as a professional and in a Cowboys uniform given that this has been the only team he has played for. Relative to team history, he is now inside the top 10 as far as most touchdowns caught and with his next one he will push Miles Austin out of the club. Lamb and Austin have the same amount of touchdowns with most of Lamb’s fifth season still to come, but it is incredible when you remember how little Austin was used early on in his career. When he caught on it was amazing. Also amazing is the average yards. Bob Hayes was something else. Over 40 yards! On touchdowns! And he had 71 of them! CeeDee Lamb has the second-most touchdowns caught in a Cowboys’ first 70 games The subject of Terrell Owens was once upon a time a divisive one among Cowboys fans so please let the record show that I loved that time and am a huge fan of what he did for this team. While it was not my purpose, the next search effectively took him out of the running. I was curious where Lamb stood relative to team history in the amount of games that he has played with the club (70) and obviously T.O. did not reach that mark. In terms of a players’ first 70 games with a star on their helmet, only Dez Bryant caught more touchdowns than Lamb has. Lamb still has a ways to go if he wants to pass Bryant all-time (he has to more than double

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images What would you say were the most important plays on Thursday night? The Cowboys walked into New Jersey and put together some really uninspiring football, but they emerged with a win on Thursday night against the Giants. It was a game filled with penalties, injuries, and two teams playing as if they were allergic to points, but Dallas found a way to win in the end. With a game this close, there’s a long list of plays that shaped the game, but these five are worth pointing out. Tyler Guyton gets called for holding on free play Following the Giants’ third field goal of the game, the Cowboys led 14-9 and had scored touchdowns on their last two possessions. They got the ball back with just over a minute left in the first half and hoped to at least get in range for a field goal from Brandon Aubrey. The offense quickly moved the ball on their first few plays, but a sack dropped them behind schedule. Then, on third down with 12 yards to go and near midfield, Kayvon Thibodeaux jumped offsides before the ball was snapped. Dak Prescott took the snap and rolled out to his left, hitting Jalen Tolbert for a 26-yard gain. The play ended up not counting, though, as Tyler Guyton had been called for holding. That penalty, coupled with Thibodeaux’s offsides, meant the penalties would offset. Prescott then missed Brandin Cooks on the next try, and Dallas had to punt. Were it not for Guyton’s penalty – which was a hold against Thibodeaux, who was the one that jumped offsides – the Cowboys would have had first down at the Giants’ 29-yard line, easily in field goal range. Instead, they got zero points before the halftime break. Giants recover their own fumble on kickoff The Giants got the ball to start the second half, which made it even more impactful that they were able to keep Dallas from scoring right before halftime. However, they came very close to coughing things up right away. As Tyrone Tracy took the ball on the kick return, Juanyeh Thomas delivered a big hit that popped the ball right out of Tracy’s hands. Through sheer luck, Chris Manhertz just so happened to be standing right where the ball flew, and he easily recovered it. Had the Cowboys managed to recover the fumble here, they would’ve taken over right around the 20-yard line and had a golden opportunity to stake out a two-score lead early on in the second half. Instead, the Giants kept the ball and went on to kick a field goal on that drive. Another Tyler Guyton penalty kills promising drive Following the Giants’ field goal to start the third quarter, the Cowboys’ lead was cut down to 14-12. Dak Prescott and the offense wanted nothing more than to go out and get another touchdown to widen the lead some. For a moment, it looked like that would happen. Prescott was hitting his receivers left and right, and the run game was getting some push here and there too. Before long, the Cowboys had crossed into New York territory. Facing a third and short, Prescott fired incomplete to Hunter Luepke, but a flag was down on the ground. Tyler Guyton, who was already having a rough night, was called for another hold. Instead of giving the Cowboys a chance to go for it on fourth and short, where a quarterback sneak would’ve likely worked, they were given third down again but backed up 10 yards. Prescott couldn’t get the ball to Brandin Cooks, who was immediately swarmed at the catch point by his defender, and Dallas had to settle for a field goal, keeping things close. Dak Prescott misses CeeDee Lamb under pressure on third down An inability to sustain drives, instead settling for field goals, has been a recurring theme this year for the Cowboys. It struck once again for the Cowboys in this game, and proved to be one of the reasons this win was so narrow in the end. Leading 17-15, the Cowboys had the ball and had once again driven deep into Giants territory. Facing a third and seven at the New York 22-yard line, Prescott dropped back to pass. That was the moment Terence Steele gave up his first pressure of the night, forcing Prescott to drift to his left as he tried to find CeeDee Lamb, who was coming open on a drag route. Prescott ended up throwing the ball just barely out of Lamb’s reach and it fell incomplete. Had Prescott hit him in stride, Lamb was assured of a first down and could have potentially scored. Instead, Aubrey came on for another field goal try. He successfully nailed the kick, but the Giants once again remained in striking distance because of the lack of touchdowns. Trevon Diggs forces incompletion Malik Nabers on fourth down The box score shows that Malik Nabers had a good game on Thursday night, but his impact outside of one big play against a broken coverage was largely limited. When facing Trevon Diggs in particular, Nabers was limited to just two catches for 16 yards. One incompletion against Diggs came at perhaps the biggest moment of the game. New York had the ball down five with three and a half minutes left. On fourth and six on their own 45-yard line, the Giants opted to go for it. As he often does, Daniel Jones looked for Nabers, who was being trailed by Diggs towards the sideline. Nabers got to the ball and dragged his feet beautifully, but the contact from Diggs as the two crashed to the ground managed to jar the ball loose, resulting in an incompletion. Diggs’ tight coverage and ball skills were what ultimately forced this incompletion, and it led to a turnover on downs that nearly sealed the deal for the Cowboys. Nabers sustained a concussion on this play that kept him out for the

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images The Cowboys are reportedly looking to add some veteran pass rush help. The Dallas Cowboys woke up winners on Friday morning thanks to their win on Thursday Night Football, but before the sun set the mood had shifted as medical results confirmed that they have serious work to do. On Friday, news broke that Micah Parsons has a high-ankle sprain. It is unknown whether or not he will miss any time. For what it is worth the Cowboys’ next game is still over a week away as they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday night. It is possible that Parsons could not miss any time, but obviously it is also possible that he could. Where things are less ambiguous are with DeMarcus Lawrence as shortly after the Parsons news it was reported that Lawrence will miss multiple weeks with a foot injury. Given that Parsons and Lawrence are the two best pass rushers on the Cowboys’ roster, and that their third, Sam Williams, tore his ACL in the early days of training camp, this team is in sore need of serious help. It was reported on Saturday morning by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that they are looking outside of the building to get it. The Cowboys are looking at external options at pass rusher with Micah Parsons (high left ankle sprain) and DeMarcus Lawrence (right midfoot sprain) going down, but they will start in-house. They are hopeful Parsons will be back sooner rather than later. A source called him “week-to-week,” and he will be pushing to get back before the Week 7 bye. Lawrence’s absence is more open-ended, but it’s not a season-ender. This is a big stretch for rookie Marshawn Kneeland, on whom the Cowboys are high. (As for external candidates, I’m told Haason Reddick of the Jets isn’t a viable option via trade due to cost.) Fowler notes that Haason Reddick is not an option for the Cowboys which puts an end to that conversation if any fan was wanting to have it. While Reddick is a talented pass rusher, the team that already traded for him this calendar year is still looking to see him for the first time as he is holding out from the New York Jets and wanting a new contract. There is no chance Dallas would pay the draft and financial compensation involved here. As far as veterans are concerned. the list is hard to put together given that it is the Saturday of Week 4. Being frank, there is not exactly a group of players who can show up and rush the passer to an effective degree who are looking for new teams at the moment. In terms of options on the roster the Cowboys will likely depend on rookie Marshawn Kneeland to a higher degree and ask Carl Lawson, a veteran pass rusher who they recently (sort of) already acquired to help carry the load.

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The latest news from around the division. Commanders Looking to Play ‘Full Brand’ of Defense vs. Cardinals – David Harrison, Sports Illustrated Washington’s explosive offense has taken the focus away from their shaky defense. Tempe, AZ — The Washington Commanders have reinvigorated their fan base with back-to-back wins including a historic performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. As historic as the Commanders’ offense was on Monday night against the Bengals, the defense was nearly bad enough that that effort was wasted. A win is a win, but Washington knows it can’t be a team that needs uncommon offense to continue winning in today’s NFL, and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. is already taking steps toward getting better production out of his unit. Talking about some of the things he and his staff have done to improve the defense, coach Whitt said, “We talked about the first week there was some communication issues, and we shored that up. …We tweaked some of the coverages from the standpoint of reductions. Now it’s just, it’s still really the third down where, alright, sometimes we got to understand the leverage and make the plays. Now it’s to the, ‘Alright, how can I help him make the plays and get that done.’ So, hopefully, this is the week that we played a full brand of what we want (to) do.” That brand includes hunting quarterbacks and the football. Something his group hasn’t done all that well thus far this season. It’s a team effort, says Whitt. Coaching to players and players executing the coaching. When things go wrong, the blame isn’t held by one level of the operation, but the entirety of it. So the plan is to continue tweaking, shifting, and adjusting their designs until they finally unlock the formula for playing Commanders defense. “We haven’t played the brand of football that I was hoping for up until this point,” Whitt concluded. “And like I said, that’s on me. We want to be a team that produces the ball. We haven’t…So, this is not the style that I envision right now, but we’re trending that way.” How Eagles can replace A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith − but not with Jahan Dotson or another WR – Martin Frank, DelawareOnline.com Wide receiver injuries mean other weapons need to step up for Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA − The narrative is a good one that the under-the-radar Eagles wide receivers in Jahan Dotson, Johnny Wilson and Parris Campbell will produce the way injured stars A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith would against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. But it’s not realistic to expect that, not when the three have combined for 6 catches for 36 yards, total, through three games this season. There’s a good chance the Eagles aren’t expecting that either. “That’s not feasible,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Everyone has their strengths, and everybody has their weaknesses. You try to help these guys as much as you possibly can, play to their strengths.” The Eagles might lean towards a cautious approach with both because the Eagles have their bye week after playing the Buccaneers. The Eagles are further short-handed after placing Britain Covey, who also serves as a punt returner, on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Covey is expected to miss about six weeks. But Dotson, Wilson and Campbell, and potentially John Ross, who was signed to the practice squad this week, can play an important role for the Eagles while preventing the Bucs from focusing on quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Dallas Goedert. That’s why, when Hurts was asked if the offense needs to be reinvented and changed without Brown and Smith, responded: “I don’t think those are the words. I think that everybody is here and has something that makes them great, so it comes down to putting them in positions to shine in the places they excel.” “Everybody is old enough to know what we’re capable of, what we’re good at,” Campbell said. “And just doing what the team asks of us, what the coaches ask of us, what Jalen asks of us. Playing our role and playing it well. We know if we do that, we can go in there and be victorious.” Giants forced to settle for 5 field goals in loss to Cowboys – Michael Eisen, Giants.com Dallas’ defense showing up for the first time since Week 1 held New York out of the end zone. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, 20-15, but perhaps the most significant score of the night was 2-0, the advantage Dallas had in touchdowns. Five times the Giants offense traveled to the Cowboys’ 34-yard line or closer, including twice into the red zone. Five times they settled for Greg Joseph field goals. Dallas scored a touchdown on its only advance inside the 20-yard line, in the first quarter, and reached the end zone on a 55-yard Dak Prescott touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys also scored on a pair of field goals by Brandon Aubrey, including a 60-yarder. “We were 0-for-2 when we got down there,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Some of those were third down conversions where we had some opportunities to get there. I think we punted one time. Hit some fourth downs, but ultimately, we threw the ball out there to (wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) on the one and they made a good tackle on him.” “I think we just didn’t execute in those positions,” [Daniel] Jones said. “We got behind the sticks with some penalties and with some unforced errors and just didn’t execute the same as we had leading up to that point. I thought we moved the ball well and drove it, but we didn’t finish, and we have to go back and see what we could have done better there.” “You can’t be settling by kicking five field goals and hope to win in