ARLINGTON, Texas — Safety P.J. Locke (foot) and cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring) will undergo more tests after both left the Dallas Cowboys’ 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday and did not return, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. Rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham had a stinger and returned.
Locke was hurt on Washington’s first defensive series, away from contact. Durant was hurt on the first-and-goal sequence at the Dallas 1 in the final seconds of the first half. DSJ reported both injuries during the game, and Schottenheimer gave the first update in his postgame news conference, alongside the plan for the week.
“Yeah, players will be off tomorrow. It’s going to be unusual. Tuesday is Wednesday. And then we’ll finish the game plan, so we’re going to treat it like a short week. And then we’ll fly Thursday night through the night, get down there, move around a little bit Friday. But we’re used to weird schedules and short weeks,” Schottenheimer said. “And got beat up a little bit tonight. I mean, P.J. Locke’s got a foot. Cobie Durant’s got a hamstring. Got to get some more tests there. Barham had a stinger. He came back. But we did get beat up a little bit. So we’ll figure that stuff out in the morning. But, yeah, it’s a unique week, but one that we’re looking forward to. And we’ll take any tests people want to throw at us.”
Markquese Bell Steps In For P.J. Locke
Dallas was already without linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, safety Malik Hooker, and outside linebacker James Houston IV, who were among the inactives. Markquese Bell replaced Locke and made all 5 of his tackles in the first half.
“Yeah, usually the positions that you’re strongest in, you end up getting injuries. Markquese Bell, I thought, did a really good job stepping in there. He’s obviously one of the leaders of the special teams group. And I thought he was inserted in there and did some really good things,” Schottenheimer explained. “But we did carry the two practice squad elevations for Barron and Robinson. That was a big part of special teams. And that certainly helped us out at linebacker.”
Linebackers Justin Barron and Curtis Robinson were elevated from the practice squad for the game. Dee Winters also left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and was listed as questionable before returning to finish with a team-high 9 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Jaishawn Barham Returns From Stinger In First Start
Barham made his first NFL start at middle linebacker with Overshown out and wore the green dot. He finished with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and a forced fumble, and Dallas rotated the defensive calls in some packages.
“I think he did a really tremendous job. We had to rotate green dot some when Shemar would come in certain packages. I thought overall we handled that really well,” Schottenheimer said. “And then Jaishawn had a couple stingers. And he’s tough, man. And I think you love that about him. We knew that’s what we were getting when we drafted him, and he showed that tonight.”
Jake Ferguson was listed as injured on a fourth-quarter run by Dak Prescott but was not part of Schottenheimer’s update. The Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 27 at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with kickoff set for 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
