As Jones acknowledged, Tolbert’s game-winning catch came one play after he had experienced a painful moment.
DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have flipped the script so far this season. After going undefeated at home at AT&T stadium in 2023 until a home wild-card loss, Dallas is thus far winless at home in 2024 while unblemished on the road.
With injuries contributing to the topsy-turvy 3-2 start for the Cowboys, owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones made his weekly visit on the Shan & RJ show on Audacy’s 105.3 The Fan to discuss the impact of the absences and how he sees it as a crucible that could prepare the team for greater things down the line.
“We have some outstanding players,” said Jones. “We’ve got a chance in my mind to evolve and be there ready at the end with the qualifications to get in the playoffs and maybe go farther than we’ve been going.”
Resilient could be a way to describe Dallas, as they’ve marched to Cleveland, New York, and now Pittsburgh and come away with wins despite two losses at home to New Orleans and Baltimore. In the Week 5 win, the Cowboys were short-handed with several key players out – especially on defense.
Missing their two top pass rushing defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and All-Pro Micah Parsons, Dallas was still able to keep the Steelers in check as they allowed just 17 points in the 20-17 win from Acrisure Stadium.
Perhaps more impressively, the Cowboys held Pittsburgh to just 226 yards, a total nearly doubled by the Dallas offense. Still, it took until a fourth down touchdown throw to Jalen Tolbert from Dak Prescott with under a minute left for the Cowboys to pull out the win and surge back above .500.
Despite the discrepancy in yards between the two squads (445-226), Dallas had to fight and claw for the victory after an hour-long weather delay led to a sloppy evening where the Cowboys were penalized eleven times. In addition, they committed three of the game’s four turnovers while also suffering a blocked field goal attempt. Those miscues nearly cost them the game as they trailed 17-13 before their final drive.
Even their game-winning play was rife with peril, albeit in a humorous way in hindsight. As Jones acknowledged, Tolbert’s game-winning catch came one play after he had experienced a painful moment. “I mean, you can [hurt your groin] stepping off the curb,” Jones shared in response to offensive lineman Tyler Smith’s claim that Tolbert had “sprained his nuts” the play before the touchdown. “Or you can do it at midnight,” Dallas’ owner added.
While gutting out the win, the Cowboys did not get out fully unscathed as yet more players were injured during the Sunday Night contest that bled into Monday morning. Rookie first-round left tackle Tyler Guyton left the game with an injured knee while fellow rookie class second-rounder Marshawn Kneeland also sustained a knee injury and did not return.
Kneeland’s injury was worse as the defensive end will undergo surgery and could miss up to six weeks to further weaken an already injury-ravaged position for Dallas. Jones provided an update on the other injuries with some good news sprinkled in.
First up, on Guyton, Jones was optimistic despite the tackle missing the rest of Sunday’s win after his injury in the second quarter. “We’ll take a look at it at practice,” said Jones. “My thoughts would be that he’s got a good chance to play against Detroit.”
Jones was also encouraged about Parsons, even if he’s likely not quite ready for Week 6 against the Lions. “When they’re this close, they’ll be evaluated carefully. [His status for Sunday] is iff, but we’ll see how it works out.”
In addition, Jones had an update on All-Pro cornerback Daron Bland, who has been on the IR since the beginning of the season. “I don’t think he’ll get there this week, but he’s on schedule,” Jones shared. “We thought [he would be back] after the bye. We’ll see how he works out there this week, too. It’s not impossible.”
Dallas’ bye week comes Week 7 after their Week 6 contest against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Oct 13. That game will be played at home where Dallas is still awaiting their first win since beating the Lions in Week 16 last December.
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