Dallas Cowboys Injury List Grows With Five Players Out Before San Francisco 49ers Game

BREAKING: Dallas Cowboys Injury List Grows With Five Players Out Before San Francisco 49ers Game

 

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are limping into Sunday’s showdown against the NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers, and the final injury report reads like a worst-case scenario for a team already fighting for its playoff life.

 

Dallas has officially ruled out five players for the 3:25 p.m. kickoff at AT&T Stadium: tight end Jake Ferguson (knee/ankle), linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku (ankle), running back Tyler Goodson (knee), wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (ankle), and safety P.J. Locke (concussion) . The news gets worse in the secondary, where both starting cornerbacks are now listed as questionable, leaving the Cowboys potentially without three starters in the defensive backfield against a 49ers offense that is getting healthier by the hour.

 

The Secondary Is in Crisis

 

The shockwave hit Friday when cornerback DaRon Bland popped up on the injury report with an ankle issue, joining Joey Porter Jr. (ankle/heel) as questionable . Porter was limited in Friday’s practice after missing the entire week, while Bland’s late addition is a fresh concern for a defense that already lost starting safety Jalen Thompson to injured reserve six games ago .

 

Safety Juanyeh Thomas (hamstring) is listed as doubtful, meaning he is unlikely to play. If both Porter and Bland cannot go, Dallas will be forced to rely on depth pieces against a San Francisco receiving corps that welcomes back Deebo Samuel from a hamstring injury and debuts newly acquired veteran Keenan Allen . The 49ers may be without Mike Evans (Achilles), but the threat posed by Samuel and Allen against a depleted Cowboys secondary is a nightmare matchup for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

 

Help Is on the Way—Just Not Enough of It

 

There are a few bright spots. Wide receiver George Pickens, who missed last week’s win over Indianapolis with a hamstring injury, practiced fully on Friday and carries no game designation . Pickens was characteristically confident when asked if he would play: “Tell your wife or your girl to turn the TV on, and she’ll see me on the field” .

 

Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (back/hamstring) also practiced fully and will return after a one-game absence. Return specialist and receiver KaVontae Turpin (ribs) is set to return after missing three games .

 

But the loss of Ferguson is particularly painful. The tight end had become a reliable red-zone target, and his absence leaves Brevyn Spann-Ford and Luke Schoonmaker to shoulder the load against a 49ers defense that, while banged up at cornerback, remains formidable in the front seven . Goodson’s absence strips the backfield of depth behind Javonte Williams, forcing Dallas to elevate Israel Abanikanda from the practice squad . Ezeiruaku’s ankle injury removes a rotational pass rusher, with Marist Liufau, Von Miller, and Jaishawn Barham expected to absorb his snaps .

 

The Stakes Could Not Be Higher

 

The Cowboys enter at 4-5, clinging to fading NFC playoff hopes. The 49ers sit at 7-1, the class of the conference . A loss on Sunday would push Dallas to three games under .500 with a brutal stretch looming, effectively ending any realistic path to the postseason.

 

San Francisco, meanwhile, is dealing with its own injury chaos. Left tackle Trent Williams (shoulder) did not practice Friday and is questionable, a significant concern given his stature at age 38 . Linebacker Dre Greenlaw (knee) is also questionable after injuring himself in Thursday’s practice . Three of San Francisco’s top cornerbacks—Deommodore Lenoir (foot), Renardo Green (back), and Upton Stout (shoulder/neck)—are all questionable .

 

But the 49ers have the luxury of depth and a two-game cushion in the loss column. The Cowboys have neither.

 

What to Watch

 

The inactive list drops at 1:55 p.m. ET, 90 minutes before kickoff. If Porter and Bland are both sidelined, the Cowboys’ secondary will be tested early and often by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who will have Samuel back in the fold and Allen learning the playbook on the fly. Dallas may need to score 30-plus to keep pace—a tall order without its starting tight end and with a patchwork running game.

 

For a franchise that has spent the past decade searching for answers in November, the question this Sunday is simple: can a depleted roster shock the NFC’s best, or will the injury list prove too steep a hill to climb? The answer arrives in primetime.