With injuries, Cowboys rely on new weapons against Dolphins

By Dwain Price, NDG Sports

FRISC0 – Now that they’ve built a 2-0 record and appear invincible each time they take the field, the Dallas Cowboys’ world has been infiltrated by the injury bug.

Four of the Cowboys’ starters are currently on the mend, and two of them may miss Sunday’s noon home game against the Miami Dolphins at AT&T Stadium. The injuries involve wide receiver Michael Gallup, safety Xavier Woods, defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford and nose tackle Antwaun Woods.

Gallup, who leads the team with 13 receptions, will be sidelined two-to-four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn left meniscus. Xavier Woods is out four-to-six weeks while dealing with a high ankle sprain.

Meanwhile, both Crawford (hip) and Antwaun Woods (sprained knee) are listed as day-to-day. Crawford aggravated his hip during Sunday’s 31-21 road win against the Washington Redskins.

Yes, four injuries are concerning to the Cowboys. At least in Gallup’s case, they already have someone ready to step in and offer some assistance with the team possibly not missing a beat.

During the win over the Redskins, Devin Smith caught three passes for 74 yards, including a long 51-yard scoring strike from quarterback Dak Prescott. Smith’s performance was significant since he has overcome two torn anterior cruciate ligaments and was so beat up that he didn’t even play football last season.

“That play — the big long touchdown — was a huge play in the game,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It kind of shifted the momentum of the game and got us going a little bit on both sides of the ball.”

Wide receiver Amari Cooper believes the Cowboys will be in good hands with Smith, who teamed with Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State to defeat Cooper’s Alabama team en route to capturing the 2015 national title.

“I played him my last year at ‘Bama when he was at Ohio State, and that’s what he was doing to us,” Cooper said. “I know what he’s capable of, and it’s nice to see him be able to do that in a Cowboy uniform.”
Smith is more than ready and able to fill Gallup’s shoes.

“When I got this call to be with this team, I just tried to take advantage of every opportunity that I was given,” he said. “And here I am now standing in front of all these cameras.”

Smith provides another capable target for Prescott, who threw three touchdown passes against the Redskins and now has seven TD passes this season. The last Cowboys quarterback with seven touchdown passes in the opening two games of the season was Don Meredith back in 1966.

Prescott was on such an incredible roll against the Redskins that at one point he tossed 18 straight passes without an incompletion.

“You’re not really aware of it, but again you kind of take it and say, “Man, what’s the last incompletion,’ Prescott said. “But it’s not something you think about.

“It’s just about being in a groove, the offense working together. The run game is happening, we’re able to throw the ball, receivers are making great catches, and you just look up, and it’s like that.”

In addition to beating the Redskins with his arm, Prescott also produced a pivotal 42-yard run that set up another touchdown before Josh Norman corraled him.

“I told him if he would have just kept running he might have scored,” said Elliott, who rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries and scored a TD against Washington. “Dak’s always phenomenal with his arms and with his legs.

“That’s what so special about him is he can do both.”

It was the longest run of his career by Prescott, who was criticized by Norman the week before last Sunday’s game for not being a very effective quarterback.

“I heard it, but I’m not going to allow him to be a motivation to me,” said Prescott, who was 26-of-30 for 269 yards against the Redskins. “I have enough things to motivate me and keep me going.

“What someone says, good or bad about me, isn’t the case, especially when he’s not on this team.”

Prescott has already passed for 674 yards in the first two games and appears to be very laser-focused.

“He’s a very purposeful guy, and he comes to work every day, and he wants to get better in all parts of (the game),” Garrett said. “Often times you guys will ask me, ‘What’s the most important thing he’s done or where’s the biggest area of improvement,’ and what I would say is it’s across the board.

“He works on all of it. He works on the technique of footwork and release and how that factors into how well he throws the ball and how accurately he throws the ball. But it’s also his understanding of what we’re doing, what the defense is doing. He tries to learn from all those experiences.”

With that, the Cowboys will try to learn from being 2-0 for just the last time during the previous 11 years as they prepare for a Dolphins’ team that comes to town as 21-point underdogs.

“We’ve got Miami next week,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said.
“That’s all that matters. Get back in the lab, watch film, and get ready for the next one.”