Cowboys fans may still be full from a key victory on Thanksgiving, but the team is already looking forward to the next meal against Cincinnati… or at least that's what head coach Mike McCarthy is aiming for. However, there is still time for leftovers; We're giving you a full recap of what happened on Thursday and what it all means going forward. DeMarvion Overshown takes us through his first-ever pick-six, we examine how great Brandin Cooks and his three catches were, and we reveal that there may have been a new Red Kettle touchdown celebration that was scrapped for currently unknown reasons .
In the meantime, we have injury updates on two Cowboys defensive backs injured in Week 13… and one who was sorely missed is finally set to return to the field. America's Team is still a ratings bonanza for the holidays even in a slow year, Jason Garrett remembers his Thanksgiving day for ages and reveals the gross souvenir he's been holding on to for far too long, and we look at just how realistic The Cowboys' chances after the season actually are.
After delivering a game-changing performance against Washington in Week 12, Butler will require season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL, according to Stephen Jones. However, Thomas could be back in two to three weeks, although he had to be sent off on Thursday. His knee injury was classified as a meniscus problem, requiring a much shorter rehab.
While Jerry Jones announced that Lawrence will “most likely” return when the Cowboys take on the Bengals, McCarthy was careful to temper expectations slightly. “D-Law will do more this week,” McCarthy made clear. “We don’t have a definitive answer. That plan hasn't been finalized for this week… He'll get back into the real fight as far as practicing.”
When the Texas product was first drafted by the Cowboys in 2023, he was a player without a clear and obvious position, perhaps intended to play a hybrid safety-linebacker role in Dan Quinn's defense. But after missing his rookie season due to injury, Overshown is emerging as a linebacker/edge rusher who looks a lot more like Micah Parsons and is becoming the type of defender his opponents will have to go head-to-head against.
Overshown revealed that he had been “told all week” that a big gig was coming his way. The linebacker recounted his first-ever pick-six, explaining, “When the running back let go of me, I thought, 'Something's going on.' And then the quarterback threw the ball and I thought, ‘That’s my play.’ I was able to inject some nitrous oxide and we were dancing in the end zone.”
The veteran's return after seven weeks showed how important a true WR2 really is on this team. Cooks is scheduled to become a free agent this winter and is expected to leave Dallas. Finding someone at least as good, preferably better, has to be a key goal for the Cowboys front office. Given their history in free agency, that could mean they opt for a top-50 draft pick.
A two-game winning streak has clearly lightened the mood at The Star, and McCarthy knows the playoffs are now a talking point for outside observers. However, he tries to tie his players to a very short-term goal. “My message will be, 'Let's pour this all into Cincinnati right now,'” the coach said. “Nothing else matters. “If we don’t take care of Cincinnati, the narrative will definitely change.”
Backup quarterbacks, lousy records, whatever. According to Fox, the game between the Cowboys and Giants drew 38.5 million viewers, good enough to rank as the most-watched telecast of the NFL season so far. (Another reporthowever, points out that Thursday's game had the lowest in-person attendance of any game at AT&T Stadium this year. The team still leads the NFL in turnstiles.)
It's possible, though certainly unlikely, that the Cowboys have a miracle in them that would catapult the 2024 season into a postseason berth. They're not as close to catching the lowest-seeded wild card teams as the numbers suggest, and the remaining matchups against Philadelphia and Washington will make it very difficult to win (Cincinnati and Tampa Bay aren't a problem either). Even if Dallas finishes with nine or even 10 wins, they will likely lose out in any tiebreaker scenario with another NFC team.
The former Cowboys head coach was in attendance for Thursday night's game and relived his moment of glory as the team's backup quarterback in 1994, when he led Dallas to an improbable Thanksgiving victory over Brett Favre and the Packers. Garrett recalled receiving an official turkey leg from John Madden that day and admitted he kept it as a souvenir for a little longer than was probably healthy. “Do you know something? I had it in the freezer,” Garrett said. “It was in aluminum foil…I probably had it for 15 years. Then we finally moved.”
Eberflus, 54, served as the Cowboys' linebackers coach in Dallas from 2011 to 2015 and added passing game coordinator to his title during Garrett's tenure in 2016 and 2017. The coach was very concerned about how much time the Chicago offense wasted in the closing moments of their Thanksgiving Day comeback attempt against the Lions. It is the first time in the Bears franchise's long history that they are making a head coach change this season.
