The battle for the Governor’s Cup kicks off on Sunday when the Houston Texans travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys.
Dallas enters the game with a 9-3 record and coming off a massive win over Indianapolis last week, while the Texans’ 2022 fate is swirling in the opposite direction as the team currently sits at 1-10-1. Regardless of record, the game is almost certainly a must-win for the Cowboys, who are trying to keep pace in the NFC East and will need every win possible as the season closes out.
The biggest injury reported for the Cowboys right now is that of Anthony Brown at the corner. Brown is believed to have torn or ruptured his Achilles in last Sunday’s victory over Indy and will likely miss the remainder of the 2022 season.
The injury leaves the Cowboys with an uncomfortably light cornerback room. The next man up on the roster is Kelvin Joseph, who has shown flashes in limited opportunities but is listed on the injury report this week as Did Not Practice due to illness.
The Cowboys are announcing they have agreed to terms with Mackensie Alexander, a former second-round pick by Minnesota. He has experience with Dallas’ assistant defensive coordinator George Edwards, who was DC in his time with the Vikings. Alexander joins Joseph, Nahshon Wright, and Kendall Sheffield, who followed Cowboys DC Dan Quinn to North Texas from Atlanta.
Head coach Mike McCarthy said that his familiarity with Alexander from his time with Green Bay is one of the reasons the team was comfortable signing the player, and all four replacements will get opportunities in practice to show what they bring to the table.
The Cowboys announced Wednesday that the 21-day window had begun for the return of Tyron Smith to the active roster. Smith has been recovering from a hamstring injury and has been admirably supplanted by rookie Tyler Smith. Tyron could be available as soon as Sunday, which will see the junior Smith move from tackle to guard while the senior Smith will retake his tackle spot.
Not only do the Texans come to AT&T Stadium as massive underdogs, but they will also do so with a large number of injured players. As of Wednesday, the Texans have listed eight players as DNP on the team’s official injury report.
Receivers Nico Collins (foot) and Brandin Cooks (calf) were non-participants on Wednesday in practice, leading to doubts about the key players’ availability on Sunday. Another troubling development for the Texans is the listing of Ka’imi Fairbairn on the injury report with a groin problem. Fairbairn is the Texans placekicker who made two field goals on two tries last week.
The Texans’ overall record makes this an easy team to overlook for the Cowboys, but with the Governor’s Cup on the line, Dallas should expect a good fight from visiting Houston with no love lost from either side.
The Cowboys and the Texans kick off at 12:00 p.m. CST from AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
