PLAYER NOTES
–WR Tavon Austin returned to limited work in practice on Wednesday. He missed the last seven games with a groin injury.
–WR Cole Beasley sprained his right foot against New Orleans. He played against Philadelphia on Sunday and went through a full workout on Wednesday.
–CB Anthony Brown is listed with a hand injury. He played against Philadelphia and went through full practice on Wednesday.
–RB Ezekiel Elliott didn’t practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He came out of the Eagles game in the fourth quarter, but returned to action.
–DL David Irving left practice six weeks ago with a high-ankle sprain. He hasn’t played the last six games and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–LB Sean Lee has missed the last six games with a groin injury. He went through limited practice on Wednesday.
–RG Zack Martin came out of the Philadelphia game with a knee injury. He didn’t practice on Wednesday.
–T Tyron Smith played against Philadelphia despite a neck injury. He went through a limited practice on Wednesday.
–LG Xavier Su’a-Filo tweaked an ankle in the win over Washington. He went through a full practice on Wednesday.
–TE Geoff Swaim suffered a wrist injury against Atlanta. He hasn’t played in the last three games and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Ezekiel Elliott passed Todd Gurley II for the NFL’s rushing lead as he gained 113 yards on 28 carries. He also caught 12 passes for 79 yards, reaching a grand total of 192 yards on 40 touches. Elliott now has four games of more than 180 total yards this season it’s no coincidence that the Cowboys are 4-0 in those contests.
GAME PLAN: The Cowboys have been rolling on offense as wide receiver Amari Cooper has emerged as a big-time play-maker. Cooper catching game-breaking passes has also opened things up for tight end Blake Jarwin and receivers Cole Beasley and Michael Gallup. Quarterback Dak Prescott needs to continue spreading the ball around to all of those targets. If that happens, the Colts will be stretched thin and that will make it especially difficult to stop Ezekiel Elliott.
Last week, the Cowboys deployed cornerback Byron Jones to cover Eagles tight end Zach Ertz at times. That could be a continued strategy as Colts tight end Eric Ebron is second on the team in catches with 58 and yards with 654. However the Cowboys do it, they need to stop Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck from spreading passes around to a variety of receivers as he likes to do. A good old-fashioned pass rush, which Dallas has shown its capable of producing at times this season, would be a good ingredient in the game plan as well.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence vs. Colts QB Andrew Luck. Last week, Houston’s dynamic D-line duo of J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney managed just one sack between them and the Texans totaled two sacks against Luck. He made them pay for it by passing for 399 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Colts to a 24-21 victory. It’s doubtful that Indianapolis will rely too much on running against the Dallas front seven, so it will be vital for Lawrence and his Hot Boyz teammates to get to Luck and make him uncomfortable.
–Cowboys WR Amari Cooper vs. Colts secondary. For all the work that Ezekiel Elliott puts in to fuel the Cowboys’ offense, it’s becoming more and more clear that Dallas will go as far as Cooper can take them. The wide receiver was the difference the Cowboys had to have in their overtime victory over Philadelphia on Sunday. Cooper and the Cowboys will be happy to be playing in a dome on Sunday, which could give them an edge against a Colts pass defense that is giving up 242 passing yards per game.
