Dan Quinn won't let 49ers loss 'beat us twice'

Dallas Cowboys coordinator Dan Quinn did not head into Sunday night’s game against the 49ers thinking his unit would allow the most points so far in his tenure leading the defense. Alas, that was the case in the 42-10 rout in San Francisco. Despite the disappointment, Quinn is determined not to let the loss roll over into Week 6 with an important matchup coming versus the Chargers and former Cowboys O.C. Kellen Moore.

“I’m bummed,” Dan Quinn said about the loss on Sunday. “You get your ass kicked, you only have a couple of choices in the fight. You can pout about it or get back up and get rocking again. And I certainly know that’s what we’re gonna do.”

After the demoralizing loss, Quinn assured reporters that the locker room is holding strong. They’ll need to hold strong considering the injuries that continued to pile up in Week 5 – including star linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. The defense is already missing a leader after Trevon Diggs‘ ACL tear.

“There’s no fingerpointing with our group,” Quinn said. “In fact, the fingers are being pointed in the direction that they need to — let’s work on this, let’s work on that. I admire that about our group. I’ve been on other teams where there was fingerpointing and blame, but that’s not this group. 

“Extremely disappointed, but I also know what we’re made of, and we’re not gonna let this game beat us twice.”

Dallas plays the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6 on Monday Night Football before heading into a bye week. The Cowboys then return home to play the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 29 and travel to Philadelphia for a divisional game against the Eagles on Nov. 5.

Cowboys considering Leighton Vander Esch for IR

On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that linebacker Leighton Vander Esch could be placed on injured reserve because of the neck injury he sustained during the Sunday Night Football loss.

Vander Esch left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. Niners offensive lineman Trent Williams drove the linebacker into Cowboys teammate Micah Parsons.

Initial X-rays on his neck Sunday turned out negative, however, after an MRI, the team determined that the LB will miss several weeks.

Through the first five games of the season, Vander Esch has tallied 30 tackles, including 17 solo stops. He has also recovered one fumble. The linebacker left Sunday’s game with 10 tackles, including one for loss.

Vander Esch, a former first-round selection out of Boise State, is in his sixth season with Dallas. Vander Esch missed three games for the Cowboys last season because of neck trouble. He also did not play in seven contests during the 2019 campaign because of a similar issue.

If the Cowboys do place Vander Esch on the injured reserve list, it would cost him significant time. The linebacker would have to be sidelined until at least Week 10, with the league requiring all IR players to miss four weeks.

On3’s Dustin Schutte contributed to this report.