After widely picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Dallas Cowboys, the national media has moved the goal posts and is now saying that the Cowboys' thrilling win on Sunday Night Football was not one of the impressive variety.
It wasn't pretty, but gritty and impressive are worthy descriptors given all the injuries Dallas had to overcome. Already down their top three edge rushers, the Cowboys lost rookie Marshawn Kneeland to a knee injury in the first half.
Kneeland's knee appeared to buckle when he landed after a rep. It was essentially a non-contact injury and he could not put any weight on his right leg before he was carted to the locker room. He was quickly ruled out was set for an MRI on Monday when the team arrived back in Dallas.
The results are back and there is both good and bad news. On the bright side, Kneeland did not tear his ACL and avoided a season-ending injury. He did, however, suffer a partially torn lateral meniscus that he'll get trimmed tomorrow. The procedure will determine a recovery timetable, but the second-round pick is a candidate to join DeMarcus Lawrence on injured reserve.
Cowboys DE Marshawn Kneeland suffered meniscus injury vs. Steelers
This is far from the worse-case scenario for Kneeland, who shared on Instagram that he'll be back soon, but it's an absolutely crushing blow to an already-depleted Cowboys defense. The group punched above its weight class on Sunday night and limited Pittsburgh to less than 230 yards of offense.
The Cowboys got inspired play from backup Chauncey Golston, who tallied four pressures, four hurries and two defensive stops. Golston was the Dallas' fourth-highest-graded player with a 77.1 player grade, per PFF.
In addition to Golston, Carl Lawson recorded a sack, two pressures and a defensive stop in an increased role.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the performance of Tyrus Wheat, who posted a 69.9 run-defense grade. Wheat committed a momentum-shifting unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on Justin Fields, but he applied pressure off the edge all game.
The Cowboys still have K.J. Henry on the practice squad after they signed him off the Bengals' practice squad last week. You can all but guarantee that Henry will be elevated for Sunday's clash against the Lions.
While Mike Zimmer will have all of Dallas' reserves ready to play, it's a tall ask of them to continue punching above their weight class. The competition is only going to get tougher. While Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland are on the comeback trail, it is incomprehensible that three of the team's top four defensive ends are going to be on injured reserve.
