Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland questionable to return versus Commanders

On top of trailing the Commanders 23-6, the Dallas Cowboys are now dealing with an injury situation in the secondary. Following safety Jayron Kearse’s exit before the end of the third quarter, the team also announced that cornerback DaRon Bland is questionable to return. Bland suffered an injury to his chest, forcing him to exit the game.

In Bland’s place, the Cowboys are rolling with Tyler Coyle in the slot. Dallas elevated Coyle for game day from the practice squad. Also playing a significant number of snaps on Sunday night is Trayvon Mullen who the Cowboys claimed off of waivers last month.

Kearse was able to return to the field, but only after the Commanders tacked on three more points.

With the Philadelphia Eagles leading versus the Giants, however, Dallas has little to gain by continuing to battle it out full-go.

If Philadelphia keeps its lead, the Cowboys will remain in the No. 5 seed position and travel to Tampa to face the Buccaneers next weekend.

Cowboys Inactives

As expected, the Cowboys are fighting for win No. 13 without linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and center Tyler Biadasz. They are also missing defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna.

Cowboys return man KaVontae Turpin popped up on the injury report due to an illness on Thursday, as did lineman Connor McGovern on Saturday. Both were questionable heading into Sunday’s game but are active. McGovern is set to start in place of the injured Biadasz at center.

Also in the lineup for Dallas is running back Tony Pollard. Pollard returned to practice on Wednesday after sitting out of the Week 17 game. He was just 12 yards shy of hitting the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season, which he did in the first half of the game.

Mike McCarthy’s squad made a couple of roster moves on Saturday to bolster the game day roster. They elevated safety Tyler Coyle and offensive tackle Alex Taylor from the practice squad. Dallas also added veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes to the practice squad to potentially help in the postseason.