Cowboys Country

Micah Parsons OUT of Cowboys Practice; Jalen Hurts' Eagles 'Licking Their Chops' to Play Dallas D? Rankings

The Dallas Cowboys are suffering a slight downturn as the playoffs approach.

Timm Hamm

FRISCO - We're mere weeks away from the start of the NFL Playoffs and teams are doing their best in this last month of the season to battle for positioning within the top four seeds of each conference. ... while also trying to stay healthy for the postseason.

And Micah Parsons and Jalen Hurts are now at the front of the NFL line in that department.

The Tuesday practice/injury report lists Parsons as a DNP (illness) and has Hurts (shoulder) as a DNP as well.

Who's healthy in Week 16 matters. Meanwhile ...

Week 15 brought some interesting moments for some of those teams, and the Dallas Cowboys were no exception, losing a 40-34 heartbreaker in overtime in Jacksonville to the Jaguars.

The Cowboys had an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win, but Dallas could not hold a mid-third quarter 17-point lead.

As the league gets ready for Week 16, let's check in on the latest NFL power rankings according to Pro Football Talk to see if that second-half collapse and subsequent loss cost the Cowboys any spots.

Dallas moved down three spots out of the top 5 from No. 3 to No. 6 this week. There are just two NFC teams ahead of the Cowboys, as division rival Philadelphia maintains the top spot while the San Francisco 49ers leapfrog Dallas from No. 5 to No 4.

6. Cowboys (10-4; No. 3): Is this the year they finally get back to the NFC Championship?We can pick at this a bit. One on each side of the ball.

4. 49ers (10-4; No. 5): Their golden helmets looked extra shiny last Thursday night. They may be shining a silver trophy on a Sunday night in February. On defense, Dallas' 48 sacks is the No. 2 total in the league (one behind Philly), so it's probably not really a "big problem.''

1. Eagles (13-1; last week No. 1): They may have to nail down the No. 1 seed with Gardner Minshew.

Offensively, the Cowboys (28.1 points) seem to still be in good shape, with just the Chiefs (29.6) and Eagles (29.4) averaging more points per game. 

But the defense has slipped a bit recently now allowing 19.2 points per game, good enough for sixth in the league. But the last three games - in which the Cowboys are 2-1 - have seen an average of 27.3, including the Jaguars' 40 points on Sunday.

And along with that, a frank comment from Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse.

“Giving up 500 yards, no disrespect, to that Jacksonville squad shouldn’t have happened,'' Kearse said. "Just like we’re watching tape on other (teams), they’re watching tape on us. 

"And I can assure you, right now, they’re licking their chops.”

If the Cowboys are going to have a long playoff run this season, we need to see more of the team that dominated the Vikings and the Colts, and less of the team that seemed unsure of itself against the Texans and Jaguars.

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Timm Hamm
TIMM HAMM

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