NFL
The Dallas Cowboys Were Just Dealt Yet Another Big Injury Blow
While they’re still in first place given the fact that the NFC East is easily the worst division in football, the Dallas Cowboys are a hot mess right now. They were embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night, which dropped their record to 2-4. They’ve lost their starting quarterback for the season. Ezekiel Elliott seems to have forgotten how to hold on to the football. The players are unhappy with the coaching staff. The defense is atrocious and is on pace to be the worst in NFL history. Injuries continue to pile up, especially on the offensive line, which used to be one of the Cowboys’ biggest strengths, and Dallas just suffered yet another blow in that department on Tuesday.
The Dallas Cowboys have suffered a number of big injuries in 2020
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The Dallas Cowboys have suffered a number of major injuries in 2020, the biggest obviously being the gruesome ankle injury to Dak Prescott in their Week 5 over the New York Giants, which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
The Cowboys lost starting tight end Blake Jarwin to an ACL injury in the season opener. Veteran linebacker Sean Lee was placed on injured reserve that same week with a sports hernia. Starting cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has been out of action since Week 2 with a hamstring injury. Defensive tackle Trysten Hill is now on injured reserve with a torn ACL. The list goes on and on.
But no unit has been hit harder than the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line.
The Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line has been hit the hardest
The Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line has been one of the team’s biggest strengths for years. But, as everyone saw this past Monday night, it’s certainly not what it used to be. Andy Dalton was sacked three times and was never able to get comfortable as the offensive line gave him no time to work. But that’s what happens when the majority of the regular starters aren’t in the lineup.
The biggest blow of the season came when All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith hit the injured reserve list with a season-ending neck injury. Right tackle La’el Collins is also on IR following hip surgery. Starting center Joe Looney has missed the last two games with a sprained MCL and is expected to miss at least another week or two. Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin suffered a concussion in the first half of the Cowboys’ matchup with the Cardinals on Monday night and his status for Sunday’s game against Washington is unknown.
And the Dallas Cowboys suffered yet another blow to the offensive line on Tuesday.
Brandon Knight will be out a couple of weeks after knee surgery
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy revealed on Tuesday that left tackle Brandon Knight, who’s been filling in for Tyron Smith, will be out “at least a couple of weeks” after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday. Given the struggles of the offensive line over the last few weeks, this is obviously terrible news for the Cowboys as this unit is depleted enough as is.
Rookie Terence Steele has been filling in for La’el Collins and yet another rookie, Tyler Biadasz, has started at center. Second-year guard Connor McGovern stepped in on Monday when Zack Martin went down. That’s a lot of young guys trying to protect an older quarterback. With Brandon Knight now out, it seems that the only current option is Greg Senat, whom the Cowboys signed from the Browns practice squad two weeks ago. Dallas also has Jordan Mills, William Sweet, and Eric Smith on the practice squad.
It should be yet another interesting week for the Dallas Cowboys.