The Dallas Cowboys missed the playoffs for the second straight year last season and have won only seven games in each of the last two campaigns.
The Cowboys kick off their quest to get back to the postseason on the 2026 premier edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football when they face their traditional rivals, the New York Giants.
But they will be without a key piece of their protection scheme for quarterback Dak Prescott, with three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Tyler Smith out.
Smith, the Cowboys’ 2022 first-round draft pick, will not suit up for the Dallas Cowboys’ regular-season opener Sunday night against the New York Giants, five days removed from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.
That absence lands at an especially bad time for an offense built around a pocket passer, raising an immediate question about how long Dallas can protect Dak Prescott without its best interior blocker.
Smith, a three-time Pro Bowl left guard, landed on injured reserve with a designated-to-return tag last Wednesday, a move that guarantees he misses at least four games. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said the thumb had nagged Smith through most of training camp before two padded practices made clear he could no longer play through it.
“At the end of the day, he felt like he couldn’t do the things that he had to do at a high level,” Schottenheimer said, according to CBS Sports. “This is a long season, and it’s unfortunate. But that’s why we coveted T.J. Bass. We know he’s a quick healer, and we want to get it fixed. He’ll be back before too long.”
| DALLAS COWBOYS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Kickoff (ET) | Network |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 13 | @ New York Giants | Away | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | Washington | Home | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| 3 | Sun, Sep 27 | Baltimore * | Neutral | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | @ Houston | Away | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 5 | Thu, Oct 8 | Tampa Bay | Home | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | @ Green Bay | Away | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 7 | Mon, Oct 26 | @ Philadelphia | Away | 8:15 PM | ESPN / ABC |
| 8 | Sun, Nov 1 | Arizona | Home | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | @ Indianapolis | Away | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 10 | Sun, Nov 15 | San Francisco | Home | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | Tennessee | Home | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | Philadelphia | Home | 4:30 PM | FOX |
| 13 | Mon, Dec 7 | @ Seattle | Away | 8:15 PM | ESPN / ABC |
| WK 14 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 15 | Sun, Dec 20 | @ Los Angeles | Away | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 16 | Sun, Dec 27 | Jacksonville | Home | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | New York Giants | Home | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Washington | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX. * Neutral-site game (Week 3 vs. Baltimore). Bye in Week 14. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. FOX carries the majority of Dallas games. Philadelphia appears twice (Weeks 7 and 12); Washington appears twice (Weeks 2 and 18). | |||||
Tyler Smith’s Timeline For a Cowboys Return
The earliest activation date is Oct. 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a short week, according to a report from ESPN. Several outlets point instead to the Oct. 18 game at Green Bay as the more realistic return marker.
Nothing in this week’s injury report or game-day previews places Smith at MetLife Stadium tonight. Players on injured reserve typically travel only when a team chooses, and Dallas has given no indication he made the trip. He’s expected to keep rehabbing in Texas as his four-to-six-week recovery clock runs.
What Tyler Smith’s Absence Means for Dak Prescott
The 25-year-old was the No. 24 overall pick out of Tulsa in 2022, a North Crowley High School product from Fort Worth who opened his career at left tackle before sliding inside to guard in 2023. He earned second-team All-Pro honors that year and made his three straight Pro Bowls from 2023 through 2025.
Last September, Smith signed a four-year, $96 million extension with $81.2 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, making him the highest-paid guard in league history at the time and the new anchor of a line that had lost Zack Martin and Tyron Smith to retirement.
In his place, fourth-year lineman T.J. Bass steps into the starting lineup, a player Dallas valued enough to tender in restricted free agency this spring. Bass has started 10 games across three seasons and has allowed just two sacks on more than 500 career pass-blocking snaps.
New York’s pass rush, led by Brian Burns and second-year star Abdul Carter, will test the interior of Dallas’ line from the opening series. Former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday flagged the stakes for Prescott on ESPN’s Get Up, calling the injury “massive” given how Prescott likes to stand tall in a clean pocket.
Bass gets that test immediately, with center Cooper Beebe and right guard Tyler Booker forming the rest of an interior line now missing its most experienced piece for at least a month.
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