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Dallas Cowboys: Inactives for Week 2 vs New York Jets

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle09/17/23

NikkiChavanelle

Tyler Smith Cowboys
Sam Hodde/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys welcome the New York Jets, led by quarterback Zach Wilson, to AT&T Stadium for the home opener on Sunday afternoon.

For the Cowboys, right guard Tyler Smith and safety Donovan Wilson are out for the second week in a row. Wilson is “very close” to a return after donning pads in practice for the first time since last season. He’s coming off of a calf strain. Meanwhile, Tyler Smith suffered a hamstring strain that kept him out of the win over the Giants and had him limited in practice as well.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks is also out after suffering an MCL sprain that had him miss practice all week. Last week, he posted two catches for 22 yards.

The Jets and Cowboys kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Check out the inactive reports for both teams before the action gets underway.

Dallas Cowboys Week 2 Inactives

ACTIVE
OL Tyron Smith (ankle)
OG Zack Martin (groin)
CB Jourdan Lewis (foot)

INACTIVE
OL Tyler Smith (hamstring)
Donovan Wilson (calf)
WR Brandin Cooks (knee)
CB Noah Igbinoghene
CB Eric Scott
DE Viliami Fehoko

Jets Inactives

DE Will McDonald
RB Israel Abanikanda
OL Max Mitchell
LB Zaire Barnes
CB Bryce Hall
K Greg Zuerlein

Cowboys enter NYJ matchup as favorites

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles injury on Monday night had a major impact on the betting lines for the Week 2 matchup against the Cowboys.

The Cowboys were already the favored by three points after taking down the Giants in shutdown fashion 40-0 but now, with the Jets facing Dallas without the former NFL MVP, the line has shifted to 8.5 points.

Even though the Vegas odds shot up in favor of the Cowboys after Rodgers’ injury, Dak Prescott isn’t overlooking the biggest threat the Jets pose – on defense.

“To say that it diminishes an NFL game would be wild of me — especially understanding how great this defense is,” Prescott said. “Go watch the way they won that game the other night. They’ve got our respect and haven’t lost any of that but, yeah, it’s tough not playing against a guy I’ve enjoyed competing against for the entirety of my career.”

Last week against the Bills, the Jets defense had three interceptions off of Josh Allen, and added five sacks, two fumbles (one recovered), and eight tackles for loss.

“Well-coached defense,” Prescott said of his opponents. “[It’s a] vision defense with eyes on me. They can get after it. They’ve got a great pass rush. You watched that game on Monday, they held a hell of an offense to just a few points, so we know the challenge that we have on our hands.”

Key for the Cowboys this weekend will be protecting Dak Prescott. He ended up clocking the fastest time to throw amongst QBs in Week 1 at 2.11 seconds, which bodes well for the offensive line in Week 2. They kept him clean with no sacks on Sunday against the Giants even without Tyler Smith.