Now at Week 15 in the 2019 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys are fighting to stay on top in the NFC East and the Los Angeles Rams are hoping to climb back into a wild card spot. Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives, and both have injuries to contend with as they meet in Dallas this Sunday.
The Cowboys are coming off a 10-day break since their Thursday night game in Week 14. It's allowed some of their key players to get healthy, but it wasn't enough for others.
Let's dig into the final Week 15 injury reports for both teams and see how Sunday's game could be impacted.
Dallas Cowboys
- LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck) – OUT
- DE Michael Bennett (foot) – Questionable
- LB Sean Lee (pectoral/thigh) – Questionable
Unfortunately, the long rest was still not enough to allow Vander Esch to get back on the field. He hasn't played since Week 11 and you have to be wondering at this point if we'll see Leighton again at all this season.
Dallas could be especially thin at linebacker against LA if Sean Lee also can't go. The veteran didn't practice at all this week but Stephen Jones expressed optimism that Sean would be able to play on Sunday. It would mean a big workload for Joe Thomas if Lee doesn't take the field.
Despite missing Friday's practice, Michael Bennett is expected to play this week. He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday with a foot issue but it doesn't appear to be anything that will prevent him from playing. Bennett has quickly emerged as a leader on and off the field for the Cowboys, and they greatly need him for this week's tough test.
Los Angeles Rams
- TE Gerald Everett (knee) – OUT
Pretty clean week for the Rams on the injury front. Their only missing player will be Everett, who is essentially a co-starter along with Tyler Higbee in LA's offense. They have played close to the same number of snaps this season and are targeted almost equally in the passing game.
By this point in the season no NFL team is without some losses on the roster. The Rams recently had to put starting center Brian Allen on injured reserve and earlier this year lost linebacker Bryce Hager.
For the most part, Los Angeles is quite healthy as they try to make a run to get back into the NFC playoff picture. Hopefully, the Cowboys are ready to put up a fight.
