Dallas Cowboys make tough decision leading up to Sunday Night Football matchup vs Bucs
The Dallas Cowboys have announced their inactives leading up to their Week 16 primetime showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Most notably, they've decided on LB Eric Kendricks, who tested his calf pregame and was a true gametime decision: He will be inactive tonight. The news is a big deal (as much as it can be considering […]
The Dallas Cowboys have announced their inactives leading up to their Week 16 primetime showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Most notably, they've decided on LB Eric Kendricks, who tested his calf pregame and was a true gametime decision: He will be inactive tonight.
The news is a big deal (as much as it can be considering the team was eliminated from the playoffs earlier on Sunday) as the Cowboys' linebacker core will be seriously tested and challenged tonight by the Bucs, who put a lot of stress on opposing defense's second-level defenders through plenty of misdirection when running the football.
The Bucs run a healthy dose of gap scheme runs, including counter and power. Pulling linemen are commonplace. If the Cowboys want to win, they'll need to have plenty of discipline against the run. Keep in mind, despite being improved since Micah Parsons' return in Week 10, they've ranked 30th in EPA/play allowed against the run.
With DeMarvion Overshown already done for the year, look for LB Marist Liufau to be under the spotlight. The third-round rookie has vastly improved since Week 1 as he's playing much more controlled football when shooting through gaps. He's been one of the bright spots in the last couple of weeks.
With Kendricks out, Liufau will likely be joined by Damone Clark, who started 17 games last year before being completely relegated to the bench in 2024 upon Mike Zimmer's takeover on defense.
Below is the rest of the Cowboys' inactives:
- RB Deuce Vaughn
- DB Juanyeh Thomas
- LB Eric Kendricks
- OL T.J. Bass
- WR Jalen Brooks
- DE Tyrus Wheat
- DT Justin Rogers
Bucs inactives
