The Dallas Cowboys' road win over the New York Giants on Thursday was costly. Already struggling mightily to stop opponents' rushing attacks, the Cowboys suffered two significant setbacks when starting defensive ends Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were injured in the second half.
On Tuesday, the Cowboys placed Lawrence on injured reserve, meaning he'll miss at least the next four weeks. To fill his roster spot, Dallas signed 25-year-old KJ Henry off the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Parsons has yet to officially be ruled out of the team's Week 5 showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, formerly known as Heinz Field.
However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported on Sunday that the star pass-rusher has a high-ankle sprain and is likely to miss two weeks. He's expected to be re-evaluated sometime between this Sunday and Wednesday, based on Rapoport's timeline.
Dallas has a bye in Week 7.
The injuries come at a bad time for the 2-2 Cowboys.
To begin the season, the Cowboys' run defense has been historically bad. Entering the game against the Giants, Dallas had given up eight rushing touchdowns, a franchise high through three games, per ESPN Research. Additionally, the total yards and yards per carry relinquished by this Cowboys team are the highest at this stage in the season since the 1970s.
The unavailability of Parsons and Lawrence will only exacerbate Dallas' defensive woes. Through the Cowboys' first four games, the two starting defensive ends had 14 tackles each including three quarterback sacks for Lawrence and one for Parsons. Lawrence also has a forced fumble. Replacing this productivity on both sides of the defensive line will be challenging.
Veteran Chauncey Golston and rookie Marshawn Kneeland are two other defensive ends who have received snaps this year. They will now be asked to step up and fill in for Parsons and Lawrence.
