marioherreraAs if a 42-10 loss in one of the most hyped regular season Cowboys’ games in recent memory wasn’t bad enough, Dallas came out of the game with some concerning injuries.
There is plenty of emotional pain cycling through Cowboys Nation right now, but at the same time there is also physical pain cycling through the Cowboys’ locker room.
I won’t try to make excuses that any of these injuries had a bearing on the outcome of the game.
The Dallas Cowboys were dominated in all three phases of the game for a full 60 minutes.
Let’s run down the injuries by level of severity.
C.J. Goodwin
Cowboys’ special teams ace CJ Goodwin received MRI results early this afternoon from an injury in San Francisco that forced him to leave the game.
It’s not good news.
Goodwin has been diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle, and has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Casual Cowboys fans might not bat an eye at this injury, but I can guarantee you ST Coordinator John “Bones” Fassel is crying under his desk.
Goodwin has been the Cowboys’ best special teams player since he arrived in Dallas for the 2018 season.
The eight year veteran is an important piece of Fassel’s kickoff and punt coverage teams, and those units will definitely be affected by this loss.
KaVontae Turpin
Another huge blow, KaVontae Turpin was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain this morning, and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Turpin was returning a kick and was tackled right on the boundary of the sideline.
His leg rolled up under the defender as he was being dragged down, and that’s where the injury occurred.
The news could be worse. Remember last postseason Tony Pollard fractured his leg on the same type of tackle.
So far this season, Turpin has been utilized as a key piece on the offense.
Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer have made it obvious they are trying to utilize Turpin’s speed and shiftiness to bring a new element to the offense.
Turpin has 11 touches (five rushes, six receptions) for 117 yards and two touchdowns, including the only touchdown the Cowboys scored last night.
It was a great over the shoulder catch that was much more difficult than it looked on your television screen.
Losing Turpin is another gut punch to John Fassel as well, as the speedy wide receiver is his main returner of kicks and punts.
Leighton Vander Esch
The Cowboys’ top true linebacker on the roster left the game in the 4th quarter after being blocked into Micah Parsons as both were running to make a tackle.
Leighton Vander Esch was falling forward, and flew head first into Micah’s back, prompting a scary situation that had his Cowboys teammates kneeling in prayer.
Vander Esch has a history of neck injuries that nearly ended his career once before.
There are no details as to the severity of the injury at the time of this writing, but losing Vander Esch for any stretch would be a blow to the defense.
Vander Esch and Damone Clark are the only true linebackers on the 53 man roster, and Dallas is supremely thin at the position.
Donovan Wilson
Dallas’ versatile S Donovan Wilson left the game in the 4th quarter with what is being listed as a right foot/leg injury.
Wilson was participating in his third game after returning from a calf strain suffered in training camp that kept him out for the first two games of the season.
All we can do is hope that the news on Vander Esch and Wilson isn’t as serious as the news for Goodwin and Turpin.
I feel for Vanderesch. No one is saying it; but that was a block in the back that sent him head-long into Parsons injuring his neck. Anyone could have been injured going into another body like that. San Fran should be called out for sitting down on the back of legs during a tackle. First Pollard, now Turpin, and who knows whom else.
And…that type of tackle is dirty and should be illegal.
“Best depth in Cowboys history”
— VP Stephen Jones
What about Jourdan Lewis and Bland!? They both had injuries too!! Bland went to the locker room towards the end of the game!! And as far as turpins injury…. He wasn’t tackled on the boundary of the sideline…. He was tackled out of bounds…. That should’ve been a penalty!! And that’s just one of many this refs didn’t call!! Those refs didn’t miss a penalty when it came to us, they even called a few questionable penalties on us, but missed several penalties when it came to San Francisco!! I’m not saying that’s the reason we lost, but it definitely didn’t help!! It’s hard to win a game when you have to play 2 teams!! The same thing happened in Arizona!! These refs have got to do better!!
The phrase compounding a loss comes to mind here. horrible play-calling, getting physically dominated, questionable dirty tackling by 9ers, nearly entire team including our stars didn’t show up, refs strong pro-9er approach to throwing yellow flags, and injuries. It was a seminal moment in cowboys recent history. Truly FO must (but won’t) see that MM isn’t the answer at HC, AND…Dak is not a QB who can elevate a team on his shoulders and carry them to victory. This was a defining game nearly a decade (or 28 years???) in the making.