After a dominant performance from the Dallas Cowboys on both sides of the ball in the Wild Card round of the 2022 NFL Playoffs, a few key defenders found themselves banged up a bit after their victory.
The biggest names were Jayron Kearse, Micah Parsons, and Jason Peters.
Kearse exited the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third quarter with a left knee injury. He was helped to the sideline by team trainers and would not return.
Jayron Kearse intercepted Tom Brady in the first quarter of the game, on Brady's first redzone interception in a playoff game.
Despite not returning, Kearse has been limited in practice the last two days.
He also told reporters he would 100% play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. “I'm good. Feeling good. This is easier to handle than the first time,” he said. “We want to win it all. We're craving a Super Bowl, that's enough motivation for us.”
Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse (knee) on percentage chance he plays Sunday: “100 percent.”
“I'm good. Feeling good. This is easier to handle than the first time.”
“We want to win it all. We're craving a Super Bowl, that's enough motivation for us.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 18, 2023
As for the first-team All-Pro Parsons, he also will be playing Sunday.
No way he will miss this matchup.
We could see he was slow to get up at the end of the first half. Parsons finished the game well and had one sack, nine pressures, and two QB hits.
“I'm feeling good,” Parsons said. He added he was excited about the matchup this week.
On the other side of the ball, veteran offensive lineman Peters will likely be out Sunday. The 40-year-old offensive lineman suffered a hip injury in the third quarter against the Buccaneers and did not return to the game.
On Wednesday, he did not participate with his teammates in the walkthrough to start this week's slate of practices.
With a short week, don't expect him to be ready.
That'll leave the Cowboys even thinner on the offensive line, but Tyler Smith will probably slide over from left guard to tackle, and Connor McGovern will take over at guard.
The Cowboys can live without Peters in the lineup, but If Dallas has to be without Kearse or Parsons, we could start worrying.
The defensive side of the ball is what I'm most worried about as the Cowboys travel to Levi's Stadium to face the 49ers.
Huge red zone INT by Jayron Kearse 👀
(Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/TFaIxoqNSG
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 17, 2023
Kearse and Parsons will rely heavily on how Kyle Shannahan runs his offense.
The offense runs through Deebo Samual and Christian McCaffrey. You stop them and you control the Niners, but that won't be an easy task.
Playing on the road Monday night didn't do them any favors. The 49ers played on Saturday at home. Therefore, they don't have to travel or get on a flight and have an extra two days since their last game.
Dallas could have used the extra time like they had, but Mike McCarthy will have his players ready to go.
