The Cowboys just got bad news...

Javante Williams punched in a one-yard touchdown with just over a minute left in Indianapolis. The Cowboys walked out with a 27-23 win. Two days later, the trade deadline came and went and Dallas didn't make a single move. No pass rusher, no running back, nothing. For a 4-5 team, that was a statement. Brian Schottenheimer said staying quiet showed confidence. We're confident in our roster and the fact that our best football is still ahead. Then Wednesday happens. Joey Porter Jr., the corner Dallas, gave up a second-round pick to get. He didn't practice. George Pickens was limited, and the running back, who just had a career day, is out for weeks, along with a starting tight end. The team coming to Arlington on Sunday is San Francisco, the best record in the NFC at 7-1. Did Dallas just bet its season on a roster that can't get on the field? Standing Pat at 4-5 was a choice, and Jerry Jones made it with his eyes open. On deadline morning, Jerry said on the radio he wasn't anticipating a significant trade, but told fans not to count on him. That move never came. Dallas did spin this season, just not this week. Their only in-season trade brought in Joey Porter Jr. on October 1st and sent a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 6th to Pittsburgh. A second-round pick is a real price for a team that's 4-5. That was their deadline move, made early, and Porter is the player that they're counting on to make it look smart. The other name everybody asked about was George Pickens. Some wanted him sold for a haul, and Clarence Hill Jr. shut that down, saying, quote, It was never a thing for Pickens. And he's producing, about 77 receiving yards a game over his last five, up from 50 before that. The front office looked at this group and decided the answer is already in the building. That's a big call for a team sitting where Dallas sits. The Cowboys are 10th in the NFC, outside the 17 playoff field. Green Bay holds the last spot at 6-3, which puts Dallas two games back with 8 to play, but the real battle is the NFC East. Seattle sits in between at 5-4, so even the first team out is a game ahead of the Cowboys. Now the division's not offering a true shortcut. The Giants lead the NFC East 5-2-1, also two games clear of Dallas. A team that far back needs everybody it has, and right now a lot of who it has is in the training room. Start with Porter because he's the one that stinks. He missed the Colts game with an ankle injury, then sat out individual drills in Wednesday's open practice. The whole point of trading for him was games against offenses like San Francisco. A corner who can't get through drills on Wednesday is a long shot to cover the 49ers receivers on Sunday. When Jerry was asked if anything else was going to go on with Porter and Pickens, he shut it down 100%. It's pure injury-related and put it to rest. Pickens is closer to playing. He was limited participant on Wednesday with the hamstring that kept him out of Indianapolis. Dallas won without him once, doing it twice against the best team in the conference is a much bigger ask. The backfield, though, took the worst hit of the week. Tyler Goodson ran for a career-high 77 yards against the Colts, then left with a knee injury that will cost him multiple weeks. Now, he had just taken over as the clear No. 2 behind Williams, with 43 rushing yards a game over his last 5 and 11 before that. Stephen Jones didn't sugarcoat it. He got a real injury that, unfortunately, he's probably going to miss some time with. Dallas also in the same breath signed Keiondre Miller, the former TCU back the Saints let go a week earlier to the practice squad. Jake Ferguson is also out multiple weeks with a knee injury, which makes the hoped-for return of Luke Schoonmaker from a groin injury this week matter more than it normally would. Ferguson's numbers had already dipped before the injury, 13 receiving yards a game over his last five, down from 24, but he did have a touchdown in his most recent game versus the Colts. Of the holes on this list, tight end is the one Dallas can patch. The defense is thinner. Safety P.J. Locke is out Saturday with his second concussion in two weeks. Malachi Lawrence went on injured reserve last Saturday, and the earliest he can come back is Week 13 in Seattle. That's three more games without him. San Francisco, Tennessee, and Philadelphia on Thanksgiving. DeMarvion Overshown was limited Wednesday with a hamstring and back issues, though he did work into individual drills. There is some help on the way, at least. Maurice LeFevre is back off injured reserve and was cleared to play in Indianapolis. And on Wednesday, Dallas opened the 21-day practice window for rookie corner Devin Moore. He's been out since a hip injury in the preseason. Now, Moore's not going to be the answer on Sunday. He's a sign of how thin that cornerback room has gotten. Injuries are bad luck, and every team is carrying some by November. What Dallas did to itself in Indianapolis, though, was not luck. The Cowboys are flagged 14 times for 153 yards against the Colts. That's 86 more penalty yards than the team they beat. CeeDee Lamb had two offensive pass interference calls and both wiped out first downs. Of course, one of them might have been a little questionable. Overshown drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag and Schottenheimer, didn't soften it. Totally unacceptable, and it won't happen again. On Monday, he sat the whole team down and made them watch all 14 penalties. Dak Prescott said it himself, we can't have this many penalties, especially on offense. That's the quarterback calling out his own side of the ball and his best receiver included. Jerry backed the system with simple math. You've got nine games that you've played. We've got eight more to go. Now, if you're riding with this team for those eight, we're at 22,300 subscribers here on Cowboys Digest. So hit subscribe. It's free and you won't miss a single update before Sunday. The flags weren't one bad afternoon, either. Dallas led the entire NFL with 667 penalty yards this season. Even the wind didn't sit right with Jerry. He called it bittersweet and said they have to put the best parts of it together before San Francisco. Dallas led 20-17, going into the final corner, then let Indianapolis go back in front. That Williams touchdown wasn't a bonus, it was the escape. The frustrating part is how good the offense was through all of it. Russ got through for 335 yards and two touchdowns. Dallas has now scored at least 27 points in three straight games. Pickens didn't play in that game, so Lamb was the whole passing game, and Sunday is when the bet gets graded. San Francisco comes to Arlington at 7-1, the top seed in the NFC. They just beat the Raiders 38-17, and they did it by taking the ball away five times in the second half. Brock Purdy threw two touchdowns that game and ran for another. Their only loss this season came after a six-game winning streak. Christian McCaffrey got through his hamstring issues in that Raiders game with 18 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns, one running and one catching. He's the one player on that roster Dallas has to plan for first. For the team with the most penalty yards in football, a defense that feeds on mistakes is the worst matchup there is. And Dallas does have a quarterback on a run. Prescott has thrown touchdown passes in nine straight games, every game Dallas has played in this season. He also is ahead of Tony Romo for the best career passer rating in Cowboys history. The worry is his accuracy. He completed 61% of his passes over his last five games, which is down before that it was 70%. The last three weeks show both sides of this team. They won 38-21 in Philadelphia, then lost 33-30 in overtime at home to Arizona, then survived Indianapolis. Arizona was the one that got away. Dallas led 17-10 going into the final quarter and lost it on a field goal in overtime. Hold that lead and Dallas would be sitting 5-4 tied with Seattle. Sunday comes down to three things. First, Porter's ankle. A secondary already missing Locke can't lose another corner Dallas traded for and expect to slow this offense down. Friday's injury report is the first real answer on him. Second, the flags. Against a defense that took the ball away five times and a half, a drive killed by a penalty is a drive they don't get back. Third, Lamb. With Pickens limited, he's the receiver the 49ers will build their plan around, and he's coming off a nearly 200-yard performance. One more touchdown catch, and he passes Drew Pearson for seventh in Cowboys history. Sunday also starts a stretch of three straight home games. The 49ers, then Tennessee comes to town, then the Eagles on Thanksgiving at AT&T. It's a short week, too. Tennessee on the 22nd, and Philadelphia just four days later. Win this one, and Dallas is 5-5 with two more games at home before the trip to Seattle. No trade at 4-5 was the right call, not a cowardly one. Penalties are the part they can fix. Injuries aren't. Sunday swings on Porter. Watch Friday's injury report. Even a loss, though, it isn't the end. Two more home games before Seattle, and two back in the 7th seed. Beat the 49ers and the deadline silence looks genius. Tell me in the comments, do you think the Cowboys are going to beat the 49ers? Yes or no? Appreciate every single one of you, and I'll see you in the next one. For now, guys, peace out.