Follow along with the very latest Cowboys updates as staff writers David Helman, Rob Phillips, Nick Eatman and Bryan Broaddus provide in-depth news and analysis.
Conor McGregor's Visit Sparks Cowboys
(Oct. 14; 8:45 p.m.) – When a team is fighting to get back to .500, any extra little motivation helps.
Who knew it would come Sunday from MMA star Conor McGregor?
McGregor attended the Cowboys' 40-7 win at AT&T Stadium as part of a scheduled promotional appearance and was on the field in pre-game visiting with Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones. He also met with a few of the players during warm-ups.
Clearly, many are fans of the brash, highly successful Irish fighter. Quarterback Dak Prescott imitated McGregor's signature in-ring strut after his 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Others followed suit throughout the game, including safety Jeff Heath after he intercepted Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles in the third quarter.
"Jeff, who's a huge fight fan, probably the biggest fight fan we have, came in the locker room (before the game) and said, 'If I get a pick today, I'm going to do the Conor McGregor strut,'" guard Zack Martin said. "So when he got it, we all ran onto the field and everyone started doing it. It was pretty sweet."
Said Prescott: "We watched the fight (between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov) a couple of weeks ago, so a bunch of us are fans. To see the guy supporting us or here marketing for himself or whatever it was, we used it to our advantage. It was good to see that and all the guys have fun."
-Rob Phillips
Tavon Austin Out For Game With Groin Injury
(Oct. 14; 5:30 p.m.) – Wide receiver Tavon Austin went to the locker room in the third quarter with a groin injury and will not return to Sunday's game against the Jaguars.
Austin was slow to get up after getting hit as he went out of bounds on a reverse play.
He had one catch for 5 yards and two runs for 14 yards against Jacksonville.
-Rob Phillips
Awuzie, Collins & Irving All Active For Jax
(Oct. 14; 2:00 p.m.) – The Cowboys will have an important trio of starters with them when they take on Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon.
The team released its seven inactives prior to kickoff, listing Mike White, Brice Butler, Joe Thomas, Sean Lee, Caraun Reid, Xavier Su'a-Filo and Dalton Schultz as unavailable for the game.
That means the trio of Chidobe Awuzie, David Irving and Maliek Collins will be active and available for Sunday's game against the Jaguars.
There had been doubts about all three heading into the weekend. Awuzie tweaked his ankle a couple weeks ago, and the problem was significant enough that it forced him out of the second half of the Week 5 loss to Houston.
Collins has been absent since injuring his knee back in Week 2, during the Cowboys' win against the Giants. Irving's story has been well-documented, as the talented defensive tackle served a four-game league suspension, but then was unavailable last week because of personal issues off the field.
It's worth pointing out that Sean Lee is still unavailable with a hamstring injury. But the trio of Awuzie, Collins and Irving figures to give the Dallas defense some firepower that's been lacking in recent weeks.
Most of the inactives are fairly straightforward. White, Su'a-Filo and Schultz have been regulars on the inactive list this season, while Thomas and Lee are both working through injuries. Reid was made inactive due to the availability of both Collins and Irving.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is Butler, who is inactive after playing a minimal role during his three weeks with the team. He has played just one snap since the Cowboys re-signed him back in September, and he now won't be in uniform for Week 6.
With Butler inactive, the receiver rotation should look familiar, as the Cowboys work with their usual group of Cole Beasley, Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Michael Gallup and Tavon Austin.
