Cowboys vs. Bills final injury report: Two defensive starters out
The Dallas Cowboys will be without two of their defensive starters when they take on the Buffalo Bills on Thursday afternoon, Thanksgiving Day.
After losing two of their last three games, the Dallas Cowboys will be looking to extend their slim lead in the NFC East with a holiday victory over the 8-3 Buffalo Bills on Thursday afternoon.
Having just suffered a heartbreaking 13-9 defeat to the New England Patriots this past Sunday in Foxborough, the Cowboys have a quick four-day turnaround to play the Bills on Thanksgiving Day.
Unfortunately, that shortened time frame has done little to allow some of Dallas’ injured players enough time to recover and participate in the annual holiday matchup. According to the Cowboys final injury report, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, two of the team’s defensive starters have already been officially ruled out for the game.
Second-year linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (neck) and defensive tackle Antwaun Woods (knee) have been designated as being out for Thursday’s contest against the Bills. A Pro Bowler as a rookie, Vander Esch is still dealing with a neck injury that sidelined him against the Patriots in Week 12 and could threaten to end his season early if it lingers.
Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee has been filling in for Vander Esch at Weakside and will continue to do so. Against New England this past Sunday, Lee racked up six total tackles and one pass defend. And we saw Patriots quarterback Tom Brady attack the 33-year old linebacker in coverage, something you might expect Buffalo to do as well.
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Four other players appeared on the Dallas Cowboys final injury report other than Vander Esch and Woods. They are safety Jeff Heath (shoulder/shoulder), left guard Connor Williams (knee), right tackle La’el Collins (knee/back), and right guard Zack Martin (back/ankle/elbow). All four were limited throughout this week’s practices, but only Heath has been designated as questionable against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day.