Cowboys news roundup: Tyler Smith latest, Overshown a 'longshot', special teams changes

The Dallas Cowboys don't have any time to revel in their last-minute Week 4 victory, with a Thursday night matchup against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers marking their third game in just 12 days.

Double-digit favorites. At home. Against an 0-4 team that's been its own worst enemy and will start undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels at quarterback with Baker Mayfield sidelined by a thumb injury. This feels like a must-win game in the opposite direction for Dallas: There's simply no excuse to lose it.

Before you know it, Dallas and Tampa Bay will be kicking off on Thursday night. With such a quick turnaround from Sunday’s win, there’s no shortage of news to catch up on before the Cowboys take the field again.

The ball is in Tyler Smith's court

The Cowboys opened Tyler Smith's 21-day practice window on Monday, and he followed a limited session with another limited practice on Tuesday. Monday was only a walkthrough, but seeing Smith participate on back-to-back days is a soul-cleansing development.

However, Brian Schottenheimer said it will be up to Smith whether he plays on Thursday.

"If Tyler feels good that he can go play, then I have no problem (with him playing)," Schottenheimer said. "I've seen him play football at a very high level. It's more of a comfort level for him than me. All Tyler's gotta say is, 'Hey Schotty, I feel good.' And he'll be out there.

But at the same time, if he doesn't feel good, then we'll have a discussion. I'm not gonna put him in a position where he doesn't feel like he can go do his job."

Knowing how tough Smith is and how much he hates watching from the sideline, we're hard-pressed to think he won't suit up on Thursday.

At the same time, if there's even an ounce of doubt that he can operate at 100 percent, by all means, sit this one out. The Cowboys have already survived tougher opponents without Smith than the Buccaneers, who have built a compelling worst-team-in-football résumé through four weeks.

Other notable Cowboys developments

Your mid-week roundup of pressing Cowboys news items.

DeMarvion Overshown likely to miss another week

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Brian Schottenheimer called Overshown a "longshot" to play against the Buccaneers. Schottenheimer was hopeful last week that Overshown could return for Thursday night, but the short week was always going to present its own challenge.

Overshown strained his hamstring in the Cowboys' Week 1 loss and has not practiced since. With Dallas heavily favored on a short week, you don't have to squint to see the logic of giving his hammy another week of recovery.

The Cowboys will have nine full days to recover before they face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 6. Barring a setback, you can go ahead and circle that as Overshown's return date.

Overshown struggled at middle linebacker before his injury. In a perfect world, Christian Parker keeps rookie Jaishawn Barham at MIKE and moves Overshown into Dee Winters' spot at WILL, where his skill set is a much more natural fit.

Brian Schottenheimer confirms special teams changes

With Drew Shelton week-to-week with a hamstring injury, the Cowboys will have to shuffle their field goal protection. However, Schottenheimer conceded that changes were coming anyway, given the unit's struggles to start the season.

"We were going to move some pieces around anyway, because it hasn't been very good," Schottenheimer said. "We got a good rotation going, but at the end of the day, we just have to clean some things up from a technical standpoint."

This is a relief, though one could argue that it shouldn't take two blocked kicks in as many teams to implement a different lineup.

Brandon Aubrey had a field goal blocked against the Ravens and another on Sunday in Houston. The opposition deserves credit for making a play in both instances, but Dallas' protection breakdowns were far too glaring to excuse.

They were lucky that Will Anderson didn't block the final extra point. 105.3 The Fan's Bobby Belt clipped it and, yeah, Anderson was frighteningly close to getting a finger on it. The entire right side of the protection team got blown up.

Whether it's a lack of attention to detail or communication lapses, Nick Sorensen needs to get his operation cleaned up. One or two more breakdowns, and we could be talking about Dallas having to find a new special teams coordinator in the middle of the season.

Week 4 Cowboys superlatives

Award	Winner
MVP of the week	CeeDee Lamb
Unsung hero	Tyler Guyton
Biggest disappointment	Jake Ferguson
Week 4 hot seat	DaRon Bland

What more can be said about CeeDee Lamb that hasn't been said already? All he did Sunday was torch the defense everyone crowned the NFL's best to the tune of 17 catches, 189 yards, and the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Playing the best football of his career, Lamb is reminding everyone that, when healthy, he's as good as any receiver in football.

And how about Tyler Guyton?! The Cowboys' left tackle allowed just two pressures in 28 1-on-1 reps against Danielle Hunter and just one pressure in eight 1-on-1 reps versus Will Anderson. He didn't allow a pressure on any of his 12 other reps. He aced his biggest test of the year, confirming suspicions that he has arrived.

Jake Ferguson, though, had multiple pathetic blocking efforts on Sunday, first leaving Terence Steele out to dry with a soft (yeah, we said it) chip block on Will Anderson before getting displaced by Jadeveon Clowney on the goal-line handoff to Javonte Williams in the fourth quarter that got stuffed. You don't have to be a Pro Bowl blocker to give maximum effort. Just inexcusable.

Ferguson also failed to come down with a contested catch opportunity. It was moderately difficult, but it's a play he's paid to make.

Speaking of not living up to contracts, DaRon Bland allowed a 153.3 passer rating when targeted. The Texans didn't even bother throwing at Joey Porter Jr. because C.J. Stroud found it easy against Bland.

You expect Reddy Steward to be hunted. He's CB6 or 7. But for Bland to be picked on without any resistance is a really sad summation of how inconsistent he's become. He cannot start on the outside once the secondary is fully healthy if he doesn't improve.

Must-see Dak and CeeDee quotes

Dak knew the Cowboys' final play would be a touchdown:

"Play design... A play that I knew was a touchdown. I knew just from watching the film throughout the week and watching film with the coaches, hearing them put it in. Seeing exactly how their defense plays, I knew it would be a TD. Credit to Shotty (for) calling it at the perfect time. Soon as it was called, I knew it was a TD."

It looked like Texans slot cornerback Jalen Pitre expected safety help. The Cowboys ran a double post concept, and the safety traveled with Jake Ferguson, leaving CeeDee Lamb wide open in the end zone.

Prescott's quote is a great look into just how much preparation is required for every matchup. Brian Schottenheimer has his warts as a play-caller, but he's good most of the time and nailed this call.

CeeDee Lamb on his game-winning TD after Dallas fell short in Rio:

"I want Schotty to know that I got his back. I'm with him. I'm one of his strongest soldiers. It's just going to battle with each other. Once you have that confidence and know who you're going to battle with, just shoot your gun. And I feel like we shot it today. No pun intended."

Lamb appreciates Schottenheimer for calling his number on the biggest play of the game, and he wants that to continue. Balance is necessary in any successful offense. George Pickens will have his blow-up games. But Lamb is unstoppable right now. Keep riding that wave.

With 17 catches for 189 yards and a TD, Lamb became the first Cowboy ever with 15 or more catches, 150 or more receiving yards, and a receiving TD in a single game. Through four games, he's first in the NFL in catches (37) and receiving yards (437).

That's the makings of an Offensive Player of the Year résumé if I've ever seen it.

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