PLAYER NOTES
–WR Tavon Austin returned to limited work in practice on Wednesday. He missed the last eight games with a groin injury.
–WR Cole Beasley sprained his right foot against New Orleans. He played against Philadelphia and Indianapolis, but limped off the field at one point against the Colts. He was limited in practice on Wednesday.
–CB Anthony Brown is listed with a hand injury. He played against Philadelphia and Indianapolis and went through full practice on Wednesday.
–DL David Irving left practice seven weeks ago with a high-ankle sprain. He hasn’t played the last seven games and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–LB Sean Lee returned to action against the Colts, but played just a few snaps. He went through limited practice on Wednesday.
–RG Zack Martin came out of the Philadelphia game with a sprained MCL. He didn’t play against the Colts and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–T Tyron Smith played against Philadelphia and Indianapolis despite a neck injury. He went through a full practice on Wednesday.
–LG Xavier Su’a-Filo left the Colts game with an eye injury. He was limited in practice on Wednesday.
–TE Geoff Swaim suffered a wrist injury against Atlanta. He hasn’t played in the last four games and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: TE Blake Jarwin caught seven passes for 56 yards two weeks ago against Philadelphia and added four catches for 45 against the Colts. He’s proving to be a reliable target as 14 of his 18 catches this season have come in the last four games. And given the Cowboys’ red-zone problems of late, Sunday would be a good time for Jarwin to score his first NFL touchdown.
GAME PLAN: If right guard Zack Martin is still sidelined with an MCL sprain and fill-in left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo is still out with an eye injury, then the Cowboys will need to adapt their offensive game plan to avoid situations that depend on a clean pocket for quarterback Dak Prescott. That means running the ball behind Ezekiel Elliott and pass plays that get the ball out quick. That might also require Dallas to pick its moments to look for Amari Cooper over the top.
The Buccaneers rank third in the NFL in total offense, but they’re trending downward the last couple of weeks as they managed just 260 yards per game against the Ravens and Saints. The Cowboys need to keep Tampa Bay bogged down and can do that by applying pressure on Jameis Winston. The Ravens sacked Winston once, hit him four other times and came up with an interception. The week before that, the Saints sacked Winston four times and intercepted him once. Dallas has shown the ability to get after quarterbacks and need to reestablish themselves after the Colts’ Andrew Luck eluded the Cowboys’ Hot Boyz.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott vs. Buccaneers front seven. Tampa Bay ranks 27th in the NFL in run defense, giving up 4.8 yards per carry and 128.1 yards per game. Last week, the Cowboys’ makeshift offensive line struggled to protect Dak Prescott, but Elliott still gained 4.8 yards per carry against a good Colts front line. This is a chance for Elliott to have a huge game toting the rock and possibly secure the NFL rushing title.
–Buccaneers DE Jason Pierre-Paul vs. Cowboys OL. Pierre-Paul has 11.5 sacks this season, a couple better than Colts DE Denico Autry, who gave Dallas fits on Sunday. Dallas can’t allow Pierre-Paul to be such a disruptive force that it debilitates the offense, which was the case with Autry last week in Indianapolis. Dallas head coach Jason Garrett likes to say that everyone has a piece in sacks, so that means the offensive line, Prescott and the receivers need to work together to avoid the negative plays that have crippled the Cowboys at times this season.
