Cowboys: Last-minute reinforcements set to play big role vs 49ers
The Dallas Cowboys announced their practice squad elevations before their Week 5 showdown against the San Francisco 49ers. They're elevating tight end Sean McKeon and linebacker Malik Jefferson, making them eligible to play on Sunday Night Football. This is the same couple of players the Cowboys called up last weekend versus the New England Patriots […]
The Dallas Cowboys announced their practice squad elevations before their Week 5 showdown against the San Francisco 49ers. They're elevating tight end Sean McKeon and linebacker Malik Jefferson, making them eligible to play on Sunday Night Football.
This is the same couple of players the Cowboys called up last weekend versus the New England Patriots and they ended up playing a big part in the team's 38-3 win. It will be each player's second elevation of the season.
McKeon and Jefferson helped out most notably on special teams with the former playing in 50% of the special teams snaps and the latter in 65%. This unit, coached by John Fassel, has become one of the most aggressive in the league.
As for McKeon, who's replacing an injured Peyton Hendershot, he also contributed on offense. Despite not getting targets last week, he played in 18 snaps, including in certain 12 and 13 personnel groupings.
However, it'll be interesting to see if the Cowboys try to keep the 49ers out of their base defense in this game. McKeon could get little playing time on offense if Mike McCarthy decides to live in the 11 personnel world with three wide receivers to force the Niners into fielding more defensive backs and force them to tackle.
In Jefferson's case, he saw zero defensive snaps in Week 4 and is unlikely to see much action in that area on Sunday. The 49ers, however, could wear out the Cowboys with all they do from heavy personnel groupings. It's fair to assume Dan Quin will want to avoid that considering any sort of rust could prove costly against an offense that lives off of misdirection.
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