No, it wasn’t a dream. The Dallas Cowboys really did give up over 500 yards of offense to the New York Giants in Week 2 with Russell Wilson at quarterback. Unfortunately, this is becoming a yearly tradition in the home opener as the Saints put up 44 points in Week 2 a year ago on Dallas. The Cowboys were very fortunate to win despite their awful defensive performance.
But the Cowboys are hopeful that this was just a down game and that with several key players returning to the lineup soon, the defense can get back on track.
Daron Bland is supposed to return in Week 3 or Week 4, but he’s not the only defensive back who could be back on the field soon for the Cowboys. Rookie third-round pick Shavon Revel could be making his NFL debut sooner rather than later.
Cowboys' rookie CB Shavon Revel could play as soon as Week 5
The Cowboys loved Revel during the 2025 pre-draft process, and he was a player that they considered drafting at pick No. 44. But when he fell to the third round, it was an easy choice for Will McClay and company. The East Carolina star tore his ACL early during the 2024 season; otherwise, he would have been a borderline first-round pick in last year’s draft.
Dallas has been patient waiting for him to return to the field and placed him on the non-football injury (NFI) list in July, which meant that he would miss the first four games of the season. The recovery process has been slow for Revel, but Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that the expectation is that he could be ready to play in Week 5 when the Cowboys face the Jets.
Jerry Jones says on @1053thefan that #Cowboys rookie CB Shavon Revel Jr.’s return to the field from injury is lining up with his NFI designation, which would make him available following Dallas’ Week 4 game against the Packers.
— Tommy Yarrish (@tommy_yarrish) September 16, 2025
How much will Revel play right away? That is the big question mark, especially for someone who missed all of training camp and the preseason. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Cowboys removed him from NFI in Week 5, but gave him a few weeks of practice to get up to speed before making him active on gameday.
But the fact that Revel is likely to play sometime in the next month is great news for Dallas, especially considering how poorly the secondary played in Week 2. If Revel can get on the field anytime in October, it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see him replace Kaiir Elam in the starting lineup. Even if he's just a backup, getting another long and athletic cornerback on the field would be a sight for sore eyes.
The Cowboys couldn’t be higher on Revel, and they believe he could be a long-term solution at cornerback. While we still have to wait a few more weeks until his NFL debut, the fact that he is on schedule to practice later this month is very encouraging news for Dallas fans.