Mondays at Valley Ranch following a victory are usually rather upbeat, but things aren't a chipper following the Cowboys' 27-24 overtime win in San Francisco.
As exciting as Sunday's victory over the 49ers proved to be, it certainly came with a cost, especially on offense.
The Cowboys are so banged up that head coach Jason Garrett has decided to give the team two days off this week before Monday's contest with the Redskins. But that game likely won't include Miles Austin, who has re-injured his hamstring and it appears he will be forced to miss not only one, but likely two games heading into the Cowboys' bye weekend.
While head coach Jason Garrett wouldn't confirm the length of Austin's expected absence, he did acknowledge Austin wasn't 100 percent heading into the game and was much worse afterwards. Various media reports indicate Austin has having a strained hamstring and is availability for this week is highly questionable.
Despite a career-high three touchdown catches with 143 receiving yards, Miles Austin was not able to finish the game Sunday in San Francisco, sitting out the overtime session in favor of Jesse Holley. On the Cowboys' first offensive play, Tony Romo found a streaking Holley over the middle for 77 yards that set up the game-winning kick by rookie Dan Bailey.
While Garrett wasn't too excited about discussing Austin's injury situation, he had no problems talking about Austin's nine-catch, 143-yard, three-touchdown performance against the 49ers.
"It's pretty rare for me, a guy going into the game and not feeling 100 percent by any means," Garrett told reporters on Monday. "If you watched him play, you could tell that he wasn't quite himself, but had nine catches for 143 yards and three remarkable touchdown catches was pretty special. He has great athletic ability, great body control, great feel for the game. I think it probably has more to do with who he is and what kind of guy he is. He's a tremendous competitor, he's a guy who you want on his side. He played a great game."
