It's a tale as old as time. Everybody has an Achilles heel, and the Dallas Cowboys are not immune to a centuries-old notion. And right now, their secondary is their kryptonite, as the injury bug hit them and they will now be without two starters in Jalen Thompson (IR) and Cobie Durant on Sunday afternoon.
Dallas' Week 4 clash with the Houston Texans will see their opponents get back their top pass-catching option. After missing the last two games, star wide receiver Nico Collins has no injury designation for Sunday, which means that he will play for the first time since their season opener.
The Cowboys have Thompson and Durant banged up, and Shavon Revel Jr. is not playing well nor 100%, which has forced them to turn to guys like Caelen Carson and Markquese Bell. Dallas is getting Malik Hooker back, but still. This secondary has struggled and is now decimated by injuries.
Their opponents haven't taken much advantage of yet, and unfortunately, that's good news for Collins. Now that the veteran wideout is healthy, he could have a field day.
Nico Collins could dice up injured Cowboys defense now that he's healthy
Collins is undoubtedly C.J. Stroud's favorite target in Houston's passing game, and had he not played, life would have been much easier on this DB room. It would've forced Stroud to play through ex-Cowboy Dalton Schultz and Kayshon Boutte, and neither of them is as threatening as Collins.
The 27-year-old has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons, and without him, the Houston offense sputtered. Then again, that's typically what happens when you lose a 6-foot-4 WR with 4.45 speed: defenses tend not to have answers for a player who can test them downfield in so many ways.
In the one game that Collins played, Stroud enjoyed his best game of the season, as Houston scored 31 points and nearly beat the Buffalo Bills. But without him, their offense has struggled without a go-to guy in the pass game, which saw them be held to 17 points or less in losses in Weeks 2 and 3.
Could newly-acquired Joey Porter Jr. provide some relief for Dallas' secondary?
The good news for Dallas is that they just paid up to acquire Joey Porter Jr. earlier this week, and his addition should add some juice to this secondary. He's not on the injury report and could play Sunday, although it is unknown what kind of role he could have or even be ready for.
In a perfect world, it would make sense for Christian Parker to ask his new CB to shadow Collins. However, there is a slight issue here: Porter Jr. been injured, at least ostensibly so, for most of the year.
Between learning a new system and being banged up, it remains to be seen how much Porter Jr. will play in his Cowboys debut. The more he plays, the more likely it is that the team will be able to lock Collins down. But if his snap count is limited, it could be a long afternoon at Reliant Stadium.
If he plays a lot, he could prove to be the equalizer in this matchup, but that's a major if. Because if not, it'll be down to DaRon Bland and Revel to step up against the former Michigan Wolverine--and neither of those guys have proven to be reliable so far this year.
Collins being back makes this matchup quite rough for the Cowboys, but slowing him down is imperative if they want to come away with a win.
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