FRISCO, Texas – Amid one of the wildest wins in franchise history, one crucial piece of information flew under the radar.
As the Cowboys staged a second half comeback against Atlanta, DeMarcus Lawrence didn't seem to factor heavily into the action. That's not meant as a jab at the Cowboys' lackluster pass rush – Lawrence quite simply wasn't on the field.
Looking over the final tally of snaps, Lawrence played just 28 downs in the game – a mere 37% of the total. In the second half, he seemed to have his knee looked at by the Cowboys' medical staff and only made a handful of appearances.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Monday that Lawrence is dealing with a knee injury, but he declined to get more specific than that.
"We're still looking at some guys that are bumped up from the game. He had a knee injury that we were just keeping an eye on," McCarthy said. "I don't have really any status on any player until Wednesday."
Asked about it Tuesday on 105.3 FM The Fan, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones didn't seem too concerned with his star pass rusher's status.
"Well, he's sound physically in my mind," Jones said. "Now, does he have a nick or does he have nicks? Absolutely."
It will be interesting to see how much the injury limits Lawrence in practice this week. Even before he got hurt, the Cowboys' pass rush has been underwhelming through two weeks. Aldon Smith got one sack in the season opening loss to the L.A. Rams, and Everson Griffen notched his first sack late in Sundays win against Atlanta.
But for the most part, the Cowboys have struggled to generate consistent pressure, which is disappointing given the flashes the pass rush showed during training camp.
Given the size of his contract, Lawrence has taken plenty of criticism when the pass rush has struggled – a fact that Jones was asked about Tuesday morning. Jones credited Lawrence's will and determination in why he thinks the Cowboys will get that unit going in the future.
"He's going to give you everything he's got, and as we adjust our defense -- and we will adjust our defense," Jones said. "As we adjust that and as we get the right combinations of — I'm going to say tact — as we make these adjustments, then you're going to see him have more production."
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