Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. Broaddus: Cowboys to shut down DeMarcus Lawrence for rest of 2024 season – 105.3 The Fan The Cowboys are not going to get DeMarcus Lawrence back this season. Now the question is will he be back at all? The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence for the rest of the 2024 season, Bryan Broaddus reported Wednesday on the GBag Nation on 105.3 The Fan. “They tried their best to get him back. There was a couple times where I was passing by the field, watching him, and I felt like [he was working hard with Cowboys trainer Britt Brown). … But they just couldn’t get that (foot) where it needed to be, and it wasn’t worth the risk for them going forward,” The Fan’s Brian Broaddus said. Lawrence has been out since sustaining a foot injury in the Week 4 win over the New York Giants in September. Shortly after that Lawrence was moved to IR. {…] Lawrence has played his entire 11-year career with the Cowboys but will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He has previously stated that he plans on playing next season. But will that be in Dallas? “We may have seen Tank Lawrence for the last time in a Cowboys uniform,” Broaddus said. Mailbag: Where has Osa improved this year? – Mickey Spagnola, Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com The defensive lineman is becoming one of the brightest stars on Dallas’ defense. (Editor’s Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in ‘Mailbag’ presented by Miller Lite.) It seems like Osa Odighizuwa is finally getting some recognition with Greg Olsen calling him one of the best defensive tackles in the game during last Sunday’s broadcast. In what areas has he improved this season? Since he’s in a contract year, is he playing himself out of what the Cowboys’ can afford? – Roland Williams/Denver, CO Mickey: Well, it’s getting close, right? But if he keeps this up the rest of the way I would think he would become a Cowboys priority to re-sign since there isn’t really anyone waiting in the wings to replace what he does. Mazi is a one-tech, and there is not another young defensive tackle playing the 3 that I see on this roster. You know, like last year at defensive end when the Cowboys passed on the expensive Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr., they had Sam Williams ready to emerge. Unfortunately, he suffered the torn ACL in training camp. Now the cap will be tight again, maybe even tighter than it has been this year. But I’d imagine the Cowboys must look at Osa as playing a position of value. He is playing nearly 80 percent of the snaps this season, and at least 78 percent in the past five games and as much as 90 percent against the Giants. To me, he’s a keeper unless some teams just money whips him. Tommy: I think his ability to get after the passer and apply pressure has been his biggest improvement this season. That’s not to say he wasn’t good at that last season – he had 47 pressures and three sacks – but with three games left in the 2024 season, he’s generated 44 pressures and four sacks, with the fourth coming on Sunday against the Panthers. Add that to the fact that he’s equally as effective stopping the run (40 tackles and 8 run stuffs this season) and he’s certainly going to demand a pretty pay check heading into this offseason. Greg Olsen is absolutely right that he’s playing like one of the best defensive tackles in the league right now, and the Cowboys front office will definitely have a tough decision to make after these last three games. My two cents? If you’ve got one of the best in the league at their position, find a way to keep them around. Dallas Cowboys Stock Watch: Week 15 risers & fallers – Koby Skillern, Sports Illustrated Some stock continues to rise as the season comes to a close. The Dallas Cowboys on Sunday did their best impression of their glory days with hard-nosed football, dominating the run game alongside a stifling defense. The Cowboys convincingly defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-14, showcasing multiple standout performances on both offense and defense. Risers Rico Dowdle, RB Rico Dowdle has improved each week this season, which is exactly what the Cowboys need from their starting running back. Since Dowdle took over as the full-time running back, the Cowboys have had their best run-game since Ezekiel Elliott’s early seasons in the league. On Sunday, Dowdle had a career day with 25 carries for a career-high 149 yards, averaging six yards per carry. His performance helped the Cowboys surpass their previous season-high team rushing yards by 55 yards. Osa Odighizuwa, DT Osa Odighizuwa is having a career year in the final season of his rookie contract, adding to the list of star players the Cowboys will need to re-sign. On Sunday, Odighizuwa recorded four total tackles, three solo tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and four quarterback hits. He has been one of the league’s best interior pass rushers and has continually increased his value as the season has progressed. CeeDee Lamb, WR Outside of Rico Dowdle, CeeDee Lamb was the only Cowboys’ weapon to make a significant impact on Sunday. Lamb surpassed 100 yards receiving for just the second time this season, finishing with nine catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Lamb became just the second player in Cowboys history, alongside Michael Irvin, to achieve four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards. It is still early, but Lamb is currently well on pace for a Hall of Fame career. Cowboys Learn ‘Good News’ Prediction After DeMarvion Overshown Surgery – Mike Fisher, AthlonSports.com Dallas got some good news regarding their up-and-coming linebacker’s recent injury. FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys, when it comes to

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Penalties have been a big talking point for the Dallas Cowboys as of late. The Dallas Cowboys may have gotten the win this week, handling the Carolina Panthers with relative ease, but one of the more concerning trends of the last few years popped up again: penalties. The Cowboys were flagged 14 times and gave up 99 yards in penalties, though it didn’t really impact the game itself. Still, penalties have been a common gripe in Dallas. It’s often been attributed to Mike McCarthy, mostly because the head coach spoke so often about wanting to cut down on penalties during and shortly after the 2021 season. However, as we broke down earlier this year, penalties were not a problem for McCarthy in Green Bay, while they have generally been a recurring issue for the Cowboys over the last decade and a half regardless of coach. What’s interesting is that the penalties had become less of an issue than usual for the Cowboys this season. Let’s take a look at their week-by-week breakdown of penalties for the year: Coming into this game with the Panthers, the Cowboys had played five straight games where they were either penalized as much or less than their opponent. Additionally, over their past eight games, the Cowboys had just one game where they were penalized more than the opponent. When things kicked off against Carolina, the Cowboys were ninth in total penalties called against them. That may not sound great, but Dallas has been top five in penalties each of the last three seasons, so ninth is making real progress. After the game, though, the Cowboys moved back up to fourth. That’s a big climb, but 14 penalties in one game will do that. What if I told you that it isn’t a big deal, though? Or, at least, not as big of a deal as it seems. Penalties are certainly bad. They can kill promising offensive drives or wipe out big defensive stops. The Cowboys saw both happen this week, too. But with so much of the conversation focusing on how many penalties have been called against them, the focus should instead be on net penalties. What does that mean? Just as the chart above looks at the Cowboys’ penalties and their opponents’ penalties, net penalties tracks the difference in penalties between teams. This adds important context as to the overall impact of the penalties being called. Take the game against the Texans, for example. Both teams were flagged nine times, and the Cowboys were assessed 66 penalty yards to the Texans’ 99 penalty yards. In the grand scheme of things, penalties didn’t really hurt either team in that game. Now, in the case of the Thanksgiving game against the Giants, Dallas had roughly half the penalties and penalty yards as their opponent, making that one of several advantages that went the Cowboys’ way in that game. Obviously, net penalties don’t always equate to wins. The Cowboys were the less penalized team against the Saints, Ravens, and Lions and got blown out by all three of them. But if we’re talking about real impact of penalties, and any attempt to paint one team or another as particularly undisciplined, we have to take into account the full picture. Net penalties helps to accomplish that. So where do the Cowboys stand in net penalties? Excellent question! With three weeks left to go in the season, Dallas has the fourth-best net penalty standing at +13. That means that, on the whole, opponents have been called for 13 more penalties than the Cowboys. The three teams ahead of them are the Vikings, Steelers, and Rams, all led by head coaches who are in the running for Coach of the Year honors. Just as important, the Cowboys are fourth in net penalty yards at +137. They’re behind the Vikings, Steelers, and Bills here. Penalty yardage numbers can be skewed because of the different types of penalties – a couple really long pass interference penalties can completely corrupt this data – but it’s still important to pay attention to since it tracks the actual yardage impact. Some of the worst teams in the league are near the bottom in one or both of these categories, too. The Titans, Patriots, Jets, and Browns all find themselves within the bottom 10 in both net penalties and net penalty yards. Ironically, the Ravens and Eagles are the two worst in both, though it hasn’t impacted their records. For those who are wondering, the Cowboys have had a negative net penalty number each of the last three years, which isn’t surprising given how heavily penalized they’ve been. But this year has been a genuine reversal of fortunes, with just four games all year seeing them draw more flags than the opponent. That doesn’t change the fact that the Cowboys played a sloppy game against the Panthers, where they drew nearly double the amount of flags. Some of that may be attributed to the defense looking to pad their stats, as Greg Olsen explained on the broadcast, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating to watch. Still, when we view this season in its total context, the Cowboys have made huge strides with regards to penalties. If they manage to finish this season with a positive net penalty number, it’ll be a first under McCarthy. It would also be the first time the Cowboys have done so since the 2017 season. That accomplishment should not go unnoticed.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The Buccaneers enter Sunday on quite the streak. Mike Evans, ‘guaranteed Hall of Famer,’ explodes for 159 yards, two TDs in Buccaneers’ win over Chargers – Kevin Patra, NFL.com The Bucs’ top receiver had a huge day against Los Angeles. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers trailed the Los Angeles Chargers at halftime, needing some juice after two turnovers cost them dearly. Then, Mike Evans exploded The star wideout found green grass on a scramble drill and Baker Mayfield hit him for a 57-yard touchdown. Two drives later, Evans toasted the Chargers defense again for a 35-yard touchdown. Boom. Halftime deficit turned into a double-digit lead. The Bucs would go on to win, 40-17, scoring the final 27 points of the game. “I think he’s a guaranteed Hall of Famer,” coach Todd Bowles said of Evans, per the team’s official transcript. “He steps up and plays big. You can’t put a price on what he does for this team from a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint and from a team standpoint. He is everything that a player aspires to be from a mental aspect. He’s tough. He does great in the community. He takes care of his body. He comes up big with plays, whether they’re singling him or doubling him, and he blocks. We can’t ask for anything more than what he is giving us right now.” Calling Evans a Hall of Famer shouldn’t be considered a hot take — before or after Sunday’s performance. The Bucs star has been consistently great for a decade. He’s currently chasing Jerry Rice’s record of 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards. Evans hit the 1K mark in each of his first 10 seasons. A hamstring injury that knocked him out three games put the streak in jeopardy, but Sunday’s explosion got him back on track. Entering the game, Evans had 590 yards on 43 catches with seven touchdowns. His massive 159 yards on nine catches with two TDs puts 1,000 yards within striking distance. He needs to average 83.6 yards per game over the final three contests. Could Chris Godwin Return To The Bucs For The Playoffs? – Scott Reynolds, PewterReport.com With Mike Evans rolling, having Godwin return would elevate Tampa’s offense even more. The Bucs had injury added to insult on Monday Night Football when Tampa Bay lost at home to Baltimore back in Week 7. Not only did the Ravens trounce the Bucs, 41-31, but wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin suffered leg injuries in the loss. Evans re-aggravated his hamstring in the second quarter, and that caused him to miss the next three games. But the injury Godwin suffered, a dislocated ankle, was far worse. Catching a pass with less than a minute left, Godwin was tackled by Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith, whose body weight landed on the receiver’s ankle. The Bucs immediately called for the cart and Godwin’s season was over in an instant. Or was it? The next day at his press conference, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles offered some optimism, suggesting that Godwin may be able to return if the Bucs make the postseason and go deep into the playoffs. “He’ll probably be out for the year,” Bowles said. “There’s a chance, if we make a late playoff run, that he could be back but he’s undergoing surgery and he’s going to be out.” Godwin spent a few moments discussing his recovery and was asked if he could return for the playoffs. “Man, recovery is going great,” Godwin said. “It’s a slow grind for sure, but like anything else, it just takes a lot of work. And that’s what I’m focused on – just putting in the work and trying to help and trying to get back to my teammates as quick as possible.” Jamel Dean Breaks Down Interception, Pre-Snap Process – Brianna Dix, Buccaneers.com Both sides of the ball put on a show against the Chargers. Defensively, Tampa Bay put on a clinic against the Chargers in Week 15. The Bucs limited the Chargers’ offense to just 206 total yards – the lowest total allowed by the Bucs in a game in 2024. The Chargers went 0-for-6 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down in the matchup and rushed for a season-low 32 yards. Los Angeles totaled just 14 first downs on Sunday, the fewest surrendered by Tampa Bay in a game all season. In the third quarter, Bucs’ veteran cornerback Jamel Dean intercepted a Justin Herbert pass intended for Quentin Johnston to record his first interception of the season and the eighth of his NFL career. Herbert had not thrown an interception on his previous 335 passing attempts – the fifth-longest streak all-time. He tied Tom Brady for the longest such streak by a quarterback within a season in NFL history (minimum of 15 attempts in each start) and Dean ended the prolific streak. With outside leverage and his eye on the ball, Dean spun around and hauled in the pick on Herbert’s floater, sparking the Bucs’ defense at SoFi Stadium. “I was guarding Quentin Johnston, and he is the fast, vertical guy,” said Dean on Bucs Total Access. ”In my mind, I thought, ‘He is the fast vertical guy, so they know I am going to take shots backed up. Eventually, he is going to test one of the corners.’ He does it at least two or three times a game and he helped me when he did an inside release. So, I was in a comfortable situation because I could see the receiver and I could see the ball. Once the ball was in the air and I could see that the receiver was not paying attention, I just played the ball.”

Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images This is great to see. A little over a week since his major knee injury, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has had surgery and will begin rehabilitation. After reports that Overshown could miss the entire 2025 season given the severity and long recovery period, the Dallas Cowboys have received a very positive update which could mean their rising defensive star returns sooner than expected. In Week 14, against the Bengals on Monday Night Football, Overshown tore multiple knee ligaments when his right leg was trapped underneath a falling Cincinnati offensive lineman. It ended a breakout season for the second-year stud, who was emerging as Dallas’ second-best defensive player behind Micah Parsons. The loss was especially crushing after Overshown missed his entire rookie season with an ACL injury to his left knee. With this latest injury happening in December and demanding a long rehab period, it was projected that Overshown may not return until 2026. But following this week’s surgery and closer examination, the prognosis has been improved to perhaps a mid-season return in 2025. Sources: #Cowboys standout LB DeMarvion Overshown underwent successful knee surgery with Dr. ElAttrache, and there’s hope he could return by mid-to-late next season — a far more optimistic timeline than initially expected after the diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/5WOe3d39OH — Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 18, 2024 With two years left on his rookie contract, Overshown will still be with the Cowboys whether he returns next season or after. But given their self-proclaimed salary cap concerns and having to re-sign Parsons soon, Dallas needs all of the cheap starters it can get. They especially need guys like Overshown; a former third-round pick who performs like he should’ve been drafted on a Thursday night. Whenever he returns, DeMarvion Overshown can hopefully resume his trajectory to being one of the NFL’s elite linebackers. Thankfully, given this latest update, it sounds like his recovery may go faster and smoother than originally thought.

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images CeeDee Lamb continues to produce at a high level, even in spite of challenging circumstances for the Cowboys this season. It is not a secret that this season has been a challenge for the Dallas Cowboys. The front office spent quite literally the entire offseason dragging their feet on important extensions for CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, both deals that they ultimately wound up doing and theoretically paid more for because of their delays. Cowboys fans are well aware of how frugal the team was in free agency in how they did not sign many external players, in fact they did not sign many at all as they let a lot of their own talent walk. When it comes to the actual football, surely you have seen that the early part of the season was a disaster for the team and that injuries have exacerbated it. It reached the point that much of what they have done since mid-November (if not earlier) has felt meaningless relative to the overall actual goal. In spite of all of this, the Cowboys have seen some tremendous performances from two of their most important cornerstones in Micah Parsons and the aforementioned CeeDee Lamb. Parsons is on his way to his own extension conversations, the Cowboys are already all over the place with how they are speaking about him as an overall brain trust, but the latter is turning in one of his finest campaigns even amid all of the chaos. CeeDee Lamb is having one of his best individual seasons to date Part of the reason you pay players like CeeDee Lamb is because you expect them to elevate things around them. Be the rising tide that lifts the other boats. In the game of football an individual player can only do so much, but there is no question that Lamb is trying his best to achieve the challenge at hand. We are at a point now where Lamb has had to operate in six full games without his franchise quarterback throwing him passes, something that clearly impacts his abilities as a wide receiver, and if you looked at his statistics you would have no idea that this was the case. Here are the first 14 games of each season of Lamb’s career: Stathead It goes without saying that last season – the greatest statistical season that any Cowboys wide receiver has ever had – was always going to be difficult to match for Lamb, so that he isn’t there is not exactly shocking. But consider that Lamb’s yardage output these days is higher to date than any season before save for 2023. He has matched the touchdown total from the non-2023 years as well to this point on the season. He has significantly more receptions than his previous high if we exclude 2023 once more. You pay players like Lamb for them to not skip a beat when the chaos is encircling them the way that it has engulfed him. He is delivering in every sense that he can and should be in consideration for individual honors like a Pro Bowl nod or All-Pro recognition. Obviously, Cooper Rush deserves some credit here for being able to help put Lamb in positions to succeed over the last six games. Mike McCarthy is also due some props, but it seems like nobody on earth is willing to say that Mike McCarthy deserves even a high five for his efforts with this team. Kudos to Lamb for continuing to not only succeed, but to do so at as high of a level as he ever has. Seeing that level of fight through what this season has been is a sign of hope for the future.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2024 NFL Week 16 Keep track of everything related to Cowboys vs. Buccaneers in NFL Week 16 as Dallas hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday night. Contributors: RJ Ochoa and David Halprin The Dallas Cowboys will be back in action at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night. and as the Sunday Night Football contest they will serve as the final act of a weekend full of football. The weekend will get started with a Thursday night game per usual, but Friday night will feature the College Football Playoff kicking off. This will ripple into Saturday, a day that’ll also feature two NFL games, and obviously the Sunday slate will take place before the Cowboys host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Needless to say, the Cowboys will have a lot to live up to! Such is sort of the case for the football part of things as well what with the Cowboys having won three of their last four games. That is not a perfect record obviously, something the Buccaneers do have in their own last four contests played. If Dallas is going to be successful they are going to have to continue to see elite performances from the likes of CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Rico Dowdle. Cooper Rush has done a fantastic job of keeping the ship steady as the other players shine and as of late players like Marist Liufau are also stepping up to help shoulder the load. The Buccaneers have talented players of their own though and are led by Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans from a passing standpoint. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving are keeping the ground game respectable as well. Needless to say, the Cowboys are going to have their hands full. Here’s our stream for everything you need to know about it all. We will update it throughout the week to include all relevant news regarding the game, injuries and everything else.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports The latest news around your Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones: Cowboys trading Micah Parsons ‘never been uttered’ – Todd Archer, ESPN The owner of the Dallas Cowboys was swift to shut down any conversation around Micah Parsons leaving via trade. Trading Parsons has been more media speculation than reality, according to Jones. “That’s never been uttered in this organization that we don’t have a future with Micah Parsons,” Jones told the team’s flagship network. In an NFL.com story Sunday, executive vice president Stephen Jones said the Cowboys would have to examine the wisdom of having such a top-heavy roster when it comes to the high-priced salaries after paying Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb this year. “Obviously we’re totally all-in on Dak and CeeDee,” Stephen Jones told NFL.com, “but after that, then you still shape things, including Micah. But Micah’s a great player. You don’t do well in this league letting guys like Micah, usually, leave the house.” After Sunday’s win against the Carolina Panthers, Parsons was asked about the Cowboys’ willingness to potentially trading him, which was not an accurate portrayal of the NFL.com story. “I understand how that business side goes. Listen, no hard feeling in this business,” Parsons said. “I’m here and I ain’t anywhere else. Obviously, I’ve stated how I wanted to be here. But at the end of the day, I understand the business side. And I put in a lot of work. I play too hard so obviously if the sides can’t agree to those type of things, it happens like that. But I’m just happy to be here and I’m just going to keep fighting hard while I’m here. And if I’m here for the next five or six years, I’m going to keep playing hard then too. Ain’t really nothing going to make a difference, Micah’s going to play hard.” McCarthy on Cowboys’ complementary football: ‘That’s the way we want to play’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com Head coach Mike McCarthy is starting to see his team play with balance in all three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. McCarthy went on to identify the other reasons the team is 3-1 in their last four outings, having turned things around from the five-game slide and despite a Mount Kilimanjaro of adversity. “Turp is magnificent, and special teams [with] the field position battle,” he explained. “… And a plus-three turnover ratio. Those are the basics that we want to play to. I think we had 20 more total plays than [the Panthers] did. I don’t know what the time of possession came out to be, but that’s the way we want to play. “We want to play balanced on offense, get our trips to the plate in the run game, and be smart in the passing game.” That was indeed the formula for success in Carolina, and could be going forward, seeing as Dowdle has proven himself one of the better backs in the NFL, Lamb setting records even in a down season and with a backup quarterback, and Mike Zimmer’s defense continually finding new guys to step up in the face of devastating injuries to impact starters. They’ve now gone from 3-7 to 6-8 on the season and, with three games left, the door isn’t mathematically closed on a possible playoff berth — though the odds are far, far from being in their favor. You won’t catch McCarthy looking that far ahead, though. He remains where his feet are. “I’m a realist, so I take a lot of pride in the commitment that we have to one another,” he said when asked about the playoffs, navigating the topic over to the never-say-die attitude within the locker room and coaching staff in Dallas. “It shows up from Monday through Saturday, and that is the hardest part. On Sundays, I mean, this is what we live for — to get out here and compete against other other NFL teams. NFL Week 15 grades: Cowboys get an ‘A’ for road win in Carolina – John Breech, CBSSports Easy to forget that the Cowboys were underdogs heading into the game. This was an all-around dominant performance by the Cowboys. Offensively, Rico Dowdle sliced and diced his way to his third-straight 100-yard performance. Dowdle carried the ball 25 times for 149 yards, and he’s suddenly looking like a player who could be a key piece of Dallas’ offense next season. CeeDee Lamb was also a huge weapon for the Cowboys with nine catches for 116 yards and a TD. As good as Lamb and Dowdle were, the defense might have been better. Micah Parsons recorded two of the Cowboys’ six sacks in a game where Dallas almost completely shut down Carolina’s offense. The Cowboys keep playing hard for head coach Mike McCarthy, which starts to make you wonder whether Jerry Jones will eventually decide to hang on to him. Ranking Top 5 candidates to potentially replace Cowboys’ HC Mike McCarthy – Brian Martin, Blogging the Boys If McCarthy were not to return to Dallas in 2025, here are a few coaches not named Ben Johnson to look out for. #4 – Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury Kingsbury’s time as the Arizona Cardinals head coach didn’t go as planned, but he’s now redeemed himself as the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator helping rookie QB Jayden Daniels find early success in the NFL. He is another young, innovative playcaller who could help the Cowboys offense become more productive. There are some rumors circulating already he could be a top candidate to replace McCarthy in Dallas. #3 – Former Tennessee Titans HC Mike Vrabel If Dallas was truly interested in Bill Belichick as their next head coach, Mike Varbel should be atop their list as well. He’s one of the most proven candidates out there for teams looking for their next head coach and his no-nonsense, disciplinarian type of coaching style could do wonders for the Cowboys undisciplined and penalty riddled ways the past few years.