While turnovers and poor play calls had a lot to do with yesterday’s loss to Washington, the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving woes began with injuries to Zack Martin and Cam Erving as the starting offensive tackles. Now it appears those injuries will cost Martin and Erving multiple weeks and perhaps end whatever slim playoff hopes the Cowboys still had.
Both tackles were injured on Dallas’ first offensive series and never returned. Brandon Knight stepped in at left tackle for Erving and Terence Steele had to be called on once Martin went out.
While the Cowboys remained competitive until the second half, the absences of these players was still evident in the ineffective run game and the pressure Washington was getting on Andy Dalton. It became an even bigger issue after halftime once Dallas was forced to pass and the Football Team could get more aggressive.
This just continues the horrific luck that the Cowboys have had all year with their offensive line. La’el Collins never played a snap in 2020 and Tyron Smith has been out since Week 2. You can even include what’s happened at center since Travis Frederick’s understandable, but still unfortunate, retirement.
Now Dallas, two games back from Washington in the division, will be hard-pressed to catch up without Zack Martin up front.
At the very least we can expect Martin and Erving to be out for next Thursday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Thankfully there’s a 10-day break between that game and the Week 14 matchup with the Bengals, so maybe the absence won’t be more than the one game.
