Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports Here is the Dallas Cowboys injury report for Wednesday After a thrilling late-night win in the early Monday morning’s wee hours, the Dallas Cowboys are back in the building. Though the Cowboys got the hard-earned win, they suffered a few more injuries to an already depleted roster. Marshawn Kneeland sustained a knee injury that will keep him off the field for some time as he heads to injured reserve. However, the Cowboys may receive help where they need it most against a formidable opponent such as the Detroit Lions this week. #Cowboys injury report vs. Lions (Wednesday): DaRon Bland practice window opened. Full participant in a limited practice held today. Caelen Carson back to full workload. Eric Kendricks, Nick Vigil DNP (Zack Martin DNP is veteran rest day) Full report: pic.twitter.com/NsgHGFZcXK — Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) October 9, 2024 DaRon Bland was back in practice after the team designated him to return to practice. He was back on the field today practiced in full. Bland began the season on injured reserve and missed the first five games. It’s unclear if he will be back for this week’s game, but if he does, it will boost the secondary, which has been without him and Caelen Carson for the last two games. Speaking of Carson, he may be close to returning to game action as he too was also listed a full participant today at practice. If Bland and Carson return, it would be the first time Dallas has had its full complement of cornerbacks available this season. Let’s not forget Jourdan Lewis who had a terrific performance against George Pickens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. With all of their cornerbacks healthy, the Cowboys have arguably the deepest cornerback room in the division. Micah Parsons did not practice as he will be out multiple weeks with a high-ankle sprain. Tyler Guyton left last week’s game but is fine and practiced fully. Meanwhile Eric Kendricks (calf/shoulder), Markquese Bell (illness), and Nick Vigil (foot) sat out of team activities. The Detroit Lions released their Week 6 initial injury report for Dallas Cowboys week. https://t.co/oz7L5OkPIp — Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) October 9, 2024 For Detroit, Center Frank Ragnow, was designated a full-go while returning from a pectoral injury Wednesday. Brian Branch, who was sick, also returned from an illness.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Cowboys announced a handful of roster moves on Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys announced a handful of roster moves on Wednesday. None of them were particularly shocking, but they are now official nonetheless. It was reported on Tuesday afternoon that DaRon Bland has a chance to play (to some degree) on Sunday against the Detroit Lions so his designation to return was a formality that we knew was inevitable. In addition to that move, the Cowboys have now officially placed rookie Marshawn Kneeland on injured reserve and signed Carl Lawson to the active roster in his place. The @dallascowboys made the following transactions: Reserve/Injured:DE Marshawn Kneeland Signed to active roster:DE Carl Lawson Signed to practice squad:WR Seth WilliamsDE Luiji Vilain Designated for Return to Practice:CB DaRon Bland — Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) October 9, 2024 Marshawn Kneeland suffered a tear in his meniscus during the first quarter of last week’s win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While that is a serious injury he may “only” (using that word loosely here) miss around six weeks. He thankfully avoided an ACL tear which obviously would have ended his season. It goes without saying that the Cowboys are in a dire situation from an injury perspective as Sam Williams did tear his ACL at the beginning of training camp, Micah Parsons is dealing with a high-ankle sprain and DeMarcus Lawrence is already on injured reserve with a foot injury. That the Cowboys are getting anything back right now is a huge win. Notably the Cowboys are on their bye next week which will provide some more time for players to rest up, heal and get right. Even though that is the case, Kneeland must now miss at least four games starting with Sunday’s against the Lions. After that the next three games for the Cowboys are at the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons before hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. That takes us to the middle of November for context.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images The latest new from around the division. Eagles Release Veteran Linebacker, Opening A Roster Spot – Ed Kracz, Sports Illustrated Philadelphia made some roster moves during their bye week, including the release of LB Devin White. It turned out, the Eagles didn’t need Devin White, after all. The team and linebacker agreed on Tuesday to be released now, rather than waiting until after the trade deadline so he is not subject to waivers. White is free to sign with any team now. In exchange, a source said the agreement could provide financial savings for the Eagles. The move opens a spot on the 53-man roster. Earlier in the week, they opened the 21-day practice window for safety Sydney Brown, who was on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) and receiver Ainais Smith, who was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return when the Eagles trimmed their initial roster to 53 players at the end of August. It is expected that Brown will take White’s spot and the Eagles will take a longer approach on Smith, though that could change if A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith continue to miss time coming out of the bye. That isn’t excpected, however, with Brown appearing to have recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of three games and Smith possibly having advanced through concussion protocol. The Eagles (2-2) will return to practice on Wednesday as they prepare to host the Cleveland Browns (1-4) on Sunday in what will be just the team’s second home game of the season. As for White, he signed a one-year contract early in free agency for $3.5 million. After getting the majority of first-team reps during training camp, it appeared he was on track to be a starter this season. Inside the Numbers: Darius Slayton-Daniel Jones connection – Michael Eisen, Giants.com Jones does enjoy throwing to more than just Malik Nabers. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Daniel Jones’ favorite target was unavailable Sunday in Seattle, so the Giants quarterback smartly and predictably turned to his favorite longtime partner to propel the passing attack in their 29-20 victory against the Seahawks. The Giants played for the first time this season without rookie sensation Malik Nabers, who was both in New Jersey and the NFL concussion protocol. As he led the NFL in both targets (52) and receptions (35) entering the game, his absence left a large void in the passing game. Darius Slayton stepped in to fill it. Jones threw 11 passes to Slayton, who caught eight of them for 122 yards – he had 122 total yards in the first four games – including a 30-yard touchdown. It was the latest episode in their continuing partnership. In their six seasons together, Slayton has more receptions (181) for more yards (2,595) and more touchdowns (12) than any of the other 52 receivers who have caught at least one pass from Jones. And no one else is particularly close. Slayton’s eight catches were tied for the second-highest total of his career. He also caught eight passes vs Dallas on Oct. 11, 2020. Slayton’s career best of 10 receptions was set in his rookie season vs. the Jets on Nov. 10, 2019. Slayton’s 122 yards is the third-highest total of his career and the most he’s had since gaining 129 yards vs. the Cowboys on Oct. 11, 2020. His touchdown catch was the 20th of his career. It was Slayton’s sixth career 100-yard game and the first in a Giants victory. LBs Wagner, Luvu helping fuel Washington’s defensive resurgence – Zach Selby, Commanders.com Despite a rocky start, the Commanders defense seems to be on the upswing. Deshaun Watson was surrounded by burgundy and gold as he tried to search for an escape route on second-and-1. He was about to be sacked, one of seven for the Washington Commanders in Week 5, and it was Bobby Wagner’s turn to bring him down. Wagner, who was in coverage on the play, saw his chance and began sprinting towards Watson. The quarterback tried to run in the other direction but was too late; the Hall of Fame linebacker slammed him to the ground, but not before the ball popped from his grasp and right into the hands of Frankie Luvu. “I should have scored on that,” Luvu said of the recovery and five-yard return after the Commanders’ 34-13 win over the Cleveland Browns. “Anyways, we knew on film that Deshaun likes to escape in the b-gaps, so when I was coming around the edge, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going past him,’ so, I kind of countered back.” Washington’s defense, which was ranked 29th in the NFL heading into Week 4, has seemed to turn a corner over the past two weeks, and the duo of Wagner and Luvu are at the core of that resurgence. Wagner’s experience has been a complement to Luvu’s unique athleticism, and the combination of those traits has produced one the better linebacker groups in the league. So, what exactly does the combination of Luvu and Wagner bring to the Commanders’ defense? “It’s a little bit of the yin and yang with Bobby and him,” said coach Dan Quinn. “But I felt both of them in the blitz package quite honestly yesterday and making their impact felt.”

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images The latest news about the Dallas Cowboys Why Jerry Jones wants his team to be aggressive as injury bug continues to strike Dallas Cowboys – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Jerry Jones continues to echo his confidence in the Cowboys young players. Despite the injury issues, his team was still able to steal a last-minute win in a tough road environment that has seen opponents go 42-109-1 all-time at Acrisure Stadium against the Steelers. “It shows me that our guys do step up,” Jones said. “You have to have that. If you’re going to have a winning team over the course of a year with the injury attrition you can have, you got to have young players step up. That, to me, was the most important thing about the other night.” Jones said that Parsons and Bland are close to making their returns from injury to bolster the defense, although the expectation is that they will retake the field after the team’s week seven bye. Guyton has a “good chance to play” against Detroit on Sunday afternoon, Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning before taking the short helicopter ride to Arlington for Tuesday’s event. Rookie Marshawn Kneeland is likely headed to the injured reserve list after a procedure on Tuesday to trim a meniscus injury that occurred on Sunday, according to team sources. Factoring in Sam Williams’ season-ending knee injury at training camp with the injuries to Parsons, Lawrence and Kneeland, the Cowboys are reeling for depth at the defensive end position. They were able to finish the game in Pittsburgh with just Chauncey Golston, Tyrus Wheat and Carl Lawson, and Jones is content with letting the depth unit ride it out despite fans asking for the team to be aggressive in pursuing outside help. “I agree with being aggressive, but the guys we got out there can be aggressive,” Jones said. “We’ve got guys on the practice squad that can step up there and make those plays in volume. Aggressive in the sense of being aggressive in letting the guys you have in this depth go play.” DaRon Bland has ‘real chance’ to play Sunday vs. Detroit – Nick Eatman, Dallascowboys.com Amidst all the recent injuries, DaRon Bland could suit up for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. After missing the first five games of the season with a stress fracture in his foot, cornerback DaRon Bland has a shot to make his 2024 season debut on Sunday against the Lions. Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said Bland could at least have a limited role when the team takes on Detroit at AT&T Stadium Sunday at AT&T Stadium. “I think DaRon Bland has a real chance … I don’t know if he’ll play the whole game but I think he’s ready to start mixing it up,” Jones said on Tuesday. “Short of a real setback, DaRon should be ready to dress and help us on the defensive side of the ball and the secondary.” Bland, who led the NFL in interceptions last season with nine, inlcduing a single-season record five returned for touchdowns, suffered the injury two weeks before the start of the season. The Cowboys placed Bland on IR-to return, meaning he was forced to miss the first four games of the season. He was not ready to return last week against the Steelers, but that could change on Sunday against Detroit. The Lions feature a passing attack that includes Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. In Bland’s absence, the Cowboys have started three different cornerbacks in the five games. Rookie Caelen Carson started the first three games before suffering a shoulder injury. In the last two weeks, Andrew Booth and Amani Oruwariye have both started opposite of Trevon Diggs. Davante Adams on the Cowboys? Why Dallas can’t afford to pass up a trade – Ralph Vacchiano, FOX Sports If the Cowboys have to give up a third-round pick, should they convince themselves that Davante Adams is worth the risk? If only there was help available. If only there were reinforcements willing to join them. If only there was some team, somewhere, ready — anxious, even — to trade an offensive weapon, maybe an elite wide receiver, who would be thrilled to be in Dallas in the next few days. If only Jerry Jones and his front office could see the gift of Davante Adams that’s staring them in the face. Of course they can. They just don’t want to — at least not at his price. And that is a ridiculous, unfathomable and unfortunate stance for a team that really could be a championship contender if they were willing to make one bold move. Granted, this is not a new story. It’s a familiar one for the Cowboys who rarely seem to be big players in free agency. Take this offseason, where they ignored their obvious need at running back and balked at the $9 million guaranteed that could’ve landed them Derrick Henry. They claimed they couldn’t take on a contract like that when of course, with a little cap management, they absolutely could. Now here they are again, with the Las Vegas Raiders seemingly desperate to dump the 31-year-old Adams on anyone who’ll take him. He clearly wants no part of the Raiders’ current game of quarterback roulette. And despite the fact that Adams has topped 100 catches and 1,100 yards in five of the last six seasons, the Raiders seem motivated to ship him out by the end of the week. They’re reportedly looking for a second-round pick in return, though several league executives think the best they can hope for is a third-rounder, plus maybe something else. That seems a pretty reasonable price to pay for an elite receiver who could do what the Cowboys need the most — take some pressure off the over-covered CeeDee Lamb and give Prescott a second dangerous target. Analyzing Cowboys snap counts: How both lines shuffled and made

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images The Cowboys are now 3-0 on the road for the first time since the 2016 season. Like the weather in Pittsburgh before the game, the Dallas Cowboys didn’t look pretty, and it was borderline troublesome overall. But somehow, the rain and the mistakes slowed down enough for the Cowboys to beat the Steelers 20-17 in the grittiest win of the season. Quarterback Dak Prescott was far from perfect, but when he needed to put the team on his back after injuries to key players continued to plague this team, Prescott delivered. He hit Jalen Tolbert for the go-ahead touchdown with seconds to play in the fourth quarter on a gutsy fourth-down play. There is still a lot to clean up, but you take the wins when you can get them in a much more competitive NFC East than initially anticipated. Here are five observations from the Cowboys Week 5 victory. First Point: Career nights for Jalen Tolbert and Rico Dowdle Just when the week leading up to Sunday’s game could not get worse, the Cowboys received news that wide receiver Brandin Cooks was dealing with an infection in his knee that would land him on injured reserve for at least four weeks. Dallas would be heading into Pittsburgh without an identity running the football and without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and their No. 2 wide receiver. During Jason Garrett’s era as head coach, he consistently preached a “next man up” mentality when their stars would miss time. That saying never goes in the Cowboys’ favor as it does with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers. However, on Sunday night, Dallas got huge contributions from Jalen Tolbert and Rico Dowdle. For a few weeks now, it looked like Dowdle was finding his groove and trending towards becoming the team’s bell-cow on offense. He had yet to escape the running back by committee approach, but against the Steelers, Dowdle showed he could carry the workload and make the offense better. .@DallasCowboys close out a long 90-yard drive with a TD, courtesy of Rico Dowdle! : #DALvsPIT on NBC/Peacock : Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/6r3EE7WqDT — NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2024 Dowdle had 20 carries for almost 90 rushing yards on top of his 22-yard touchdown reception late in the game. It’s the first time since Week 3 of last year that a Cowboys running back rushed for over 87 yards. Dallas desperately needed a performance like that from Dowdle. For Tolbert, it was also a career night needing to step up in a big spot in the absence of Cooks. The third-year wideout has been slowly developing since his rookie season, but many fans have been hoping for more up to this point. After coming off his best offseason as a Cowboy, it seemed a performance like Sunday night was just around the corner. Tolbert led the Dallas offense in targets (10), receptions (7), yards (87), and had the longest catch of the night for 48 yards. On the final drive of the game, Tolbert was injured on the second to last play after a Prescott pass. If it were not for a Pittsburgh timeout, Tolbert might not have been in on fourth down, clearly needing a minute to collect himself. The timeout gave the young wideout enough time to recover enough to get open on the offense’s final play of the game for the go-ahead touchdown. With Cooks sidelined for a few more weeks, Tolbert will have the time to show everyone his performance was not a fluke in big-time games against the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. Second Point: The defense is turning a corner toward success It is tough to find statistics on offenses where the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers appear near the top of the list. That said, seeing the way Dallas’ defense put the clamps on New York’s and Pittsburgh’s attack on offense should be, at the very least, a confidence boost for the unit. This is the same defense that gave up a combined 888 yards of offense against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. It was good to see them right the ship even if the schedule helped them out with matchups against the Giants and Steelers. Linval Clement Joseph—35 years young.#DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/hUHNKvdM0y — Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) October 7, 2024 Mike Zimmer’s defense effectively contained the Pittsburgh run game despite a few minor setbacks. They executed a solid plan to limit Justin Fields to just 27 rushing yards, with his longest scramble being eight yards. Fields is not the best pocket passer in the league, but the Dallas secondary didn’t allow him and wide receiver George Pickens to heat up. Fields had 131 yards passing, and Pickens was targeted seven times for three receptions and 26 yards. The Lions will arguably be the toughest overall matchup for the Cowboys this season, as they have been dominant in their running and passing offense. If the previous two weeks were nothing more than a much-needed morale boost, hopefully, the Cowboys can find a way to carry that momentum into their game against Detroit on Sunday. Third Point: Dallas matches the attitude of Pittsburgh Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, has always aimed to instill his hometown’s tough and aggressive mindset into the Cowboys as a football team. After their Week 1 beatdown of the Cleveland Browns, it looked like his message had finally reached the locker room. However, after two rough losses at home and a less-than-stellar performance against the New York Giants, it was fair to wonder if the Pittsburgh mentality had fallen on deaf ears. Not on Sunday night. The Cowboys did everything possible to lose the game through penalties and turnovers. History shows that Dallas doesn’t usually end up in the win column when it is minus three in the turnover battle. Yet, the team found a way to fight, scratch, and claw its way back against the team that

Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Here are our historical notes from Sunday’s Cowboys win in Pittsburgh. There was a lot of talk about history prior to last Sunday night’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. To be fair, how could there not be? The most common Super Bowl matchup in history is between Dallas and Pittsburgh. Unfortunately the bad guys have the lead there, but Dallas extended their all-time lead in the series with their victory. But the event was treated with such reverence that, in case you missed it, NBC had a packaged video that they played right before kickoff (which was delayed almost 90 minutes, adding to the hysteria of it all) that featured Celine Dion. Really! “Sometimes, some nights, it all just comes back.” @celinedion Cowboys. Steelers. A timeless classic on Sunday Night Football. pic.twitter.com/RzgmLRk8L6 — Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 7, 2024 There were certainly moments of gold throughout the contest. It is hard to deny that there were flashes of light. I imagine if you asked Mike McCarthy that there were things he would never do again (like challenge a fumble that the opposing team recovered) that somehow always seemed right. History can be instructive and helpful and, to the point NBC and Celine Dion made, nostalgic. For the purposes of this exercise we are leaning on the earlier ideas as we try to sort some of what the Cowboys did in Pittsburgh and where they now stand into where it all sits in the Dallas Cowboys record books and encyclopedias. Here are the historical notes from Sunday’s win in Pittsburgh. Rico Dowdle reached 87 yards rushing which is a surprising accomplishment You likely feel that Sunday’s outing from Rico Dowdle was the best one that a Dallas Cowboys running back has offered so far this season. That seems pretty agreed-upon. What if I told you that the 87 yards that he ran for was something that no Cowboys runner had accomplished in over a year? Seriously. The last time that a Cowboys running back hit at least 87 yards rushing was in last season’s blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals which came in Week 3. All told the Cowboys only have seven games played since the 2022 season in which a running back hit 87 yards. This is a random and arbitrary number and the point isn’t to assign significance to it. But it is interesting nonetheless. It is very difficult to win when committing three turnovers in a single game As a whole the Cowboys committed three turnovers in this game. They all belonged to Dak Prescott (more on him in a moment), but for this point we are talking about from a team-wide perspective. This game marked only the fourth victory in the Mike McCarthy era in which the team committed at least three turnovers. Two of them came almost back-to-back late in the 2022 season and the other was the famous watermelon kick game. In this same time period all NFL teams are 60-287 when committing at least three turnovers just to exemplify how difficult it is to win. The other team has to fail significantly so as not to take advantage of the extra opportunities. Shout out to the Steelers, I guess. Speaking of, it is really hard to win when your quarterback specifically turns the ball over a lot As mentioned, all three turnovers in this game were charged to Dak Prescott. This game marked the 11th instance in Prescott’s career in which he had at least two interceptions and a fumble. In these kinds of games specifically the Cowboys are now 5-6, and weirdly have won four of their last five! All of those go back to our McCarthy era point and are somewhat representative (reaching here) about how the team is able to respond and rally in moments of crisis. You certainly do not ever want to see your quarterback turn the ball over at least three times, but that everyone else could lift him and provide an opportunity to make amends is notable. CeeDee Lamb is off to a better start through five games than he was last year Much has been made about the start to the season that CeeDee Lamb is having. It certainly does not feel like what we got used to over the course of last year. What if I told you that Lamb is essentially out-performing his 2023 self to this point, though? That is basically the case. Lamb has fewer receptions on more targets so that is why we cannot unequivocally say that he is off to a better start, but he has 20 more yards and an extra score and is also averaging more yards per reception to this point. He notably leads the league in yards after the catch over expected (+77) and yards after the catch over expected (+82) against man coverage this season, according to NFL Pro. It is important to note that a year ago the Cowboys were also coming off of a Sunday night game, but it was the embarrassing loss against the San Francisco 49ers as opposed to the win against the Steelers. That game served as the flashpoint for the Cowboys’ season as a whole and for the offense at large, specifically Prescott and Lamb. Perhaps he is due to turn it around any day now. Starting 3-0 on the road is a very good sign A decade ago it felt so impressive that the 2014 Cowboys were such great and true road warriors (including winning in London!). They followed that up with a similar mark two years later in 2016. We are only three road games in, but this year’s team is drawing comparisons to them. In case you were unaware the Cowboys have won all three of their road games this season (they are winless through two at home) which is not an easy thing to do. They are the 15th team

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images The Cowboys defense may get one of its top stars back vs the Lions The Cowboys’ injury-plagued defense may get some relief this week. All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland, who was injured during the preseason, reportedly has a chance to play when Dallas hosts the Detroit Lions this Sunday. Bland went on injured reserve in late August due to a stress fracture in his left foot. He had to sit out at least four games and then didn’t join the team for last week’s battle in Pittsburgh. But even with a bye coming following the Detroit game, the Cowboys could get Bland out there sooner rather than later. The Cowboys are expecting DaRon Bland back this week, even in a limited role. https://t.co/9a3s635fTQ — Nick Eatman (@nickeatman) October 8, 2024 “I think DaRon Bland has a real chance … I don’t know if he’ll play the whole game but I think he’s ready to start mixing it up,” [Stephen] Jones said on Tuesday. “Short of a real setback, DaRon should be ready to dress and help us on the defensive side of the ball and the secondary.” Bland’s return could easily coincide with rookie Caelen Carson’s, who was inactive again last week but did get in some limited practices. If both can go against the Lions, it will be the first time that Dallas has had its top-four corners play in the same game this year. It will also be the first time that Bland and Trevon Diggs have shared the field since Week 2 of 2023. In other roster news, the Cowboys did some churning with call-ups from and new signings to their practice squad in preparation for Week 6. The Cowboys are signing WR Seth Williams and DE Luiji Vilain to practice squad after a workout Tuesday. The club also worked out WRs Denzel Mims, Dante Pettis, Chad Cota, QB Max Duggan and DE Shaka Toney. DE Carl Lawson will be called up to 53-man roster from practice squad. — Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 8, 2024 Williams was a sixth-round pick by Denver in 2021. He’s spent nearly all of the last three years on the Broncos and Jaguars’ practice squad, logging just one catch so far in his career. Vilain, an undrafted rookie in 2022, was recently on the Browns’ practice squad and has spent time in Carolina and Minnesota before that. He made the Vikings’ roster as a rookie but only played in three games.