The Dallas Cowboys are banged up heading into their Week 10 game against the 49ers on Sunday, and while coaches often regurgitate the same cliche–everyone is banged up at this time of year–it’s a bit different for the Cowboys, who are wafer thin in certain areas. One of those areas is in the secondary, and heading into the weekend, the Cowboys had two starters–Joey Porter Jr. and DaRon Bland–who were both questionable with ankle injuries. There isn’t much behind those two (Cobie Durant, Ameer Speed, Shavon Revel), so there is a heightened sense of panic about their possible absences against a 7-1 San Francisco team.
On Sunday morning, word came down from NFL insider Ian Rapoport, though, who noted that things were looking good on the CB front for the Cowboys.
Cowboys Get Good News on Joey Porter Jr. and DaRon Bland
From Rapoport: “CBs Daron Bland (ankle) and CB Joey Porter Jr. (ankle/foot) both are questionable and both are trending towards playing, sources say. Porter has had two good practices in two days.”
The Cowboys defense still ranks as one of the worst in the NFL. The team is 30th in yardage allowed, at 3,354, and 25th in points allowed, at 236. They’re the worst team against the run in the league–147.4 yards per game–and seventh-worst in coverage. But the unit has been better with the addition of Porter–when he is available to play.
Porter reported this week that he injured the ankle in his debut in Week 4. He said he has only been at about 70% because of the problem, but that 70% is better than nothing.
As he said, via Jane Slater of NFL Network: “Tweaked it, Houston game, and I just kept playing on it. Yeah. And you know, my 70% looks good. You know, that’s what I think. So it just got worse, as I kept playing on. … I feel like all the guys are, you know, wanting me to get back. You know, they know what I can do when I’m out there on the field. I bring a presence out there that is a game-changing type presence.”
Cowboys Get Major Update on Joey Porter Jr. Before 49ers Game