PLAYER NOTES
–WR Tavon Austin returned to a full practice on Wednesday. He has missed the last nine games with a groin injury.
–CB Anthony Brown missed the Tampa Bay game with a back injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–DE Tyrone Crawford left the Tampa Bay game on a stretcher with a neck injury. However, a scan and an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage to his neck. He didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–DL David Irving left practice eight weeks ago with a high-ankle sprain. He hasn’t played the last eight games and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–LB Sean Lee returned to action against the Colts but was inactive against Tampa Bay. He went through limited practice on Wednesday.
–RG Zack Martin came out of the Philadelphia game with a sprained MCL and didn’t play against the Colts. He returned to action against Tampa Bay. Martin didn’t appear to aggravate the injury, but he didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–T Tyron Smith has played the last three games despite a neck injury. He went through a full practice on Wednesday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Michael Gallup subbed in for Amari Cooper as the Cowboys’ big-play maker in their 27-20 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Gallup caught three passes for 53 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown on a fade route late in the third quarter, to lead Dallas in yards and yards-per-catch. Cooper finished with four catches for 20 yards.
GAME PLAN: Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said the team will prepare and play as normal this week, which means Dallas will use a heavy dose of Ezekiel Elliott and try to alternate and take pressure off their running back by hitting Amari Cooper for big plays. However, Dallas isn’t going to push players who have lingering injuries, so don’t expect to see right guard Zack Martin in action. In the same situation two weeks ago, the Colts shut down the Cowboys’ offense and Dak Prescott failed to make plays with his legs or convert red-zone opportunities. So, Dallas will try to reverse those trends going into the playoffs.
Defensively, Dallas needs to harass Giants quarterback Eli Manning the same way it did at the beginning of the season at home. The Cowboys sacked Manning six times for 59 yards in losses in a 20-13 victory in mid-September. The Dallas defense also has a chance to redeem itself by shutting down New York’s Saquon Barkley. Indianapolis’s Marlon Mack rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns in Week 15, setting the tone for the Colts’ 23-0 victory.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch vs. Giants RB Saquon Barkley. The Giants running back has made a great case to be the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year, while Vander Esch has done the same on the defensive side. Vander Esch can put an exclamation point on his regular season by slowing down Barkley and tilting the game in Dallas’s favor.
–Cowboys QB Dak Prescott vs. Giants front seven. It’s unlikely that Dallas RG Zack Martin will play in the regular-season finale. That will put the focus on Prescott to take the pressure off the offensive line by running and getting the ball out quick. If he can’t, the Giants will be able to target Ezekiel Elliott and collapse the pocket on Prescott.
