The Dallas Cowboys are heading into Thursday night with a chance to climb above .500 for the first time this season, but the bigger story is how much is hanging over three key figures in Week 5. Tampa Bay comes in at 0-4 and won’t have Baker Mayfield, which only sharpens the spotlight on Dallas in a game it cannot afford to lose.
For Trevon Bland, the numbers have been ugly through four games. He’s allowing a 71.4% completion rate and a 129.5 passer rating when targeted, production that simply hasn’t been good enough. Jerry Jones isn’t sounding the alarm quite as loudly as plenty of Cowboys fans probably are.
“I understand how our fans could be concerned. But I’m not as concerned as you might think," Jones said of Bland.
Still, the concern is hard to ignore. Bland has been struggling for more than two seasons now, and health hasn’t changed the story.
With Joey Porter Jr. taking away the other side of the field, Bland is likely to see even more attention, and that could expose him further. If the issues continue, his role could shrink once Cobie Durant is back.
The other major pressure point is special teams, where the Cowboys have already had two field goals blocked in their last two games. One came against Baltimore in Week 3, and the other showed up in Week 4 against Houston, with a third nearly getting through as well. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said his team went after the same weakness Baltimore had already exposed.
“During the film study you definitely saw a breakdown in the protection. You’ve seen it consistently.
That’s how you study film,” Ryans said. “You look for those weaknesses, how you can exploit a team.
We saw a weakness there in the C and D gap area.”
“We were able to show that kick from the Baltimore game, how they were able to block it, and we’re gonna design a plan similar to that to see if they fixed it. That’s what all teams do. If you see a breakdown, see if they fixed it the next week," he added.
That’s not the only special teams issue Dallas has dealt with either, since the unit has also given up several big returns this season. The repeated breakdowns land squarely on Nick Sorensen, who needs to clean this up fast. Another rough night would at least put his seat in a much hotter place.
There’s also some movement to watch in the secondary. Revel played only seven snaps last week because he wasn’t fully over the knee injury he suffered in Week 3. This week, he’s off the injury report and should be in line for more action, especially if Porter again doesn’t handle a full workload.
And that’s where Bland’s situation gets even more interesting. His leash appears to be tightening after four shaky games, and if Revel can raise his level beyond “OK but not great,” he could start eating into Bland’s snaps. If not, he risks sliding further down the depth chart once Durant returns.
In Other News...
Jerry Jones Gets Pulled Back Into A Familiar NFL Firestorm
Colin Kaepernick is back on the book-tour circuit with fresh reasons to revisit one of the NFLs most polarizing sagas, and Jerry Jones was inevitably part of the conversation. The former quarterbacks memoir, A Perilous Fight, was released Sept. 15, and he used the moment to criticize the Cowboys owner while discussing Joness long-remembered response to Kaepernicks national anthem protests.
For Dallas fans, it is another reminder that Jones can still find himself at the center of league-wide arguments long after the original flashpoint has passed. The Cowboys owner had already made his views known during the protests, and Kaepernicks latest public comments have pulled that old friction back into view, even as the book tour keeps pushing the story into new territory. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Head Into Bucs Game With One Huge Line Question
Tyler Smiths possible return has become one of the biggest pregame storylines for the Cowboys as they prepare to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The All-Pro guard is in line to potentially make his 2026 season debut, but his availability still hinges on how his thumb holds up, a reminder that Dallas is trying to piece together its protection plan while sorting through a longer list of injury concerns heading into a short week.
Jerry Jones underscored how much Smiths hand matters to him being able to play at a high level, and the timing only adds to the pressure with several other Cowboys already listed as questionable or out. Quinnen Williams also pointed to the quick turnaround between games, which leaves Dallas trying to recover, regroup and get answers up front before kickoff in Tampa. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Face Another Secondary Concern After Joey Porter Jr. Absence
The Cowboys secondary was already getting adjusted to one new face, and Thursday night brought another setback before kickoff. Joey Porter Jr. was listed as inactive against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of illness, a frustrating turn after he had just made his debut on Sunday night and looked positioned for a larger workload in a short span.
Porter arrived at the stadium visibly unwell, and the team sent him home to avoid spreading whatever was going around the room. For Dallas, it was another reminder of how quickly a defensive backfield can get thinned out, especially on a short week when every available body matters and roles can shift fast. [Read more 🡒]