Things are not looking great for the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare to face the San francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. Already down their top four defensive ends, including Micah Parsons, and two cornerbacks, Dallas also won't have running back Rico Dowdle.
Dowdle came down with an illness upon arriving at Levi's Stadium. Team reporters are saying it's the flu and he was quickly ruled out. That means Dalvin Cook, who was elevated from the practice squad, will see an expanded role in his Cowboys debut.
Already short on confidence for the game, Cowboys fans have lowered their expectations in light of Dowdle's sudden absence. Since it pours when it rains, the NFL universe stuck another dagger into Cowboys Nation before kickoff.
Remember Noah Brown? Now playing for Dan Quinn on the Commanders, Brown came down with an improbable last-second Hail Mary from quarterback Jayden Daniels to win the game for Washington.
Former Cowboys WR Noah Brown catches game-winning Hail Mary for Commanders
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— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
JAYDEN DANIELS HAIL MARY! @COMMANDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/BsQ0Z84Rko
That will go down as the play of the year in the NFL. It is so fitting that Brown was on the receiving end of it while the Cowboys endure one of their most difficult periods in recent memory.
In case you mentally checked out during the bye week, Jerry Jones delivered a laundry list of humiliating moments over the last 10 days. A number of former players also came down on the Cowboys' culture and the presence of fan tours being a distraction.
It wasn't that long ago that Cowboys fans clamored for a Brown reunion. The fan base flocked to social media asking for Brown's return after he was released by the Texans. Quinn's Commanders beat Dallas to the punch. It's unlikely that Dallas was even interested.
With Brandin Cooks on injured reserve, Brown would be no worse than the Cowboys' third wide receiver right now. It can be argued that Dallas has a bottom-five WR room.
It is far from the end of the world that Dallas didn't sign Brown, but there is something very symbolic about him and the Commanders thriving while the Cowboys are embroiled in mediocrity thanks to one of the most dysfunctional front offices in the NFL.