Dallas Cowboys Notebook #ATLvsDAL | Week 10

Strong Side, Left Side

He's not the first one to make the analogy, but Terence Steele put it simply when he was asked about the differences between playing right tackle and left tackle.

"It's just the whole biomechanics of switching everything," he said. "It's kind of like trying to write with you left hand."

Steele wasn't the only Cowboys lineman who struggled in the loss to Denver, but his problems were easy to focus on given the position switch – not to mention the two allowed sacks. Despite that, the Cowboys are sticking with Steele on the left side in the event that Tyron Smith won't be available again this weekend.

With one game under his belt, Steele was confident that he's not far off from where he needs to be.

-David Helman (11/11)

Eyes on the Prize

The ball was right in front of him. It was a catch he makes 99 percent of the time. But maybe he wasn't looking ahead. Maybe he was worried more about the next move than the play in front of him.

That's the way Amari Cooper categorized his key dropped pass from last week's game against Denver. But taking a bigger picture approach, Cooper said that play was rather indicative of the entire game the Cowboys played against the Broncos, who cruised to a 30-16 upset win. 

"As soon as I dropped the ball, I knew exactly what happened," Cooper said, explaining his third-quarter drop over the middle. "I took my eyes off it and that's a great reminder for me as it is for the team — we can't take our eyes off the prize."

Cooper had a season-low two catches in the game for just 37 yards as the entire offense struggled. 

"(We) can't come out flat the way we came out, expecting to win," Cooper said. "You come out the way we came out, you bound to lose."

-Nick Eatman (11/11)

Parsons-Pitts II

"A little PA rivalry," Micah Parsons said. "That's all."

The Cowboys rookie linebacker is referring to his high school battles with Falcons rookie tight end Kyle Pitts in the state of Pennsylvania.

Led by Pitts, Archbishop Wood beat Parsons' Harrisburg squad in the 5A state title game five years ago.

"That still hurts," Parsons said.

As expected, both players have made an immediate impact for their respective NFL teams. Parsons, the 12

th overall pick in April's draft, is tied for the most sacks on the Cowboys' defense (5.0). Pitts, the fourth overall pick, leads the Falcons in catches (57) and receiving yards (546) with one touchdown.

"Kyle's my guy," Parsons said. "We've got history, playing in high school against each other and we trained down in LA with each other. … It's going to be a really good game and I'm really excited to play him because I know how good he is."

-Rob Phillips (11/10)

Bad Football"

Just like that, safety Jayron Kearse hasn't just become one of the best players on this defense, but one of the more vocal guys who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. After Sunday's loss to Denver,

Kearse used the word "embarrassing" five times and on Wednesday, didn't really shy away from that notion, especially after watching the film.

"That was just bad football," Kearse said of the 30-16 loss to the Broncos, adding that the Cowboys defense had a "huge drop-off" from earlier games this season. The Cowboys gave up a season-high 190 rushing yards last week, after entering the week yielding just 88.2 rushing yards per game.

But the good news for the Cowboys, and perhaps not so great for the Falcons, is that Kearse saw a much better practice effort.

"It was back to where it needed to be," Kearse said of Wednesday's practice. "Guys were locked in. Guys (were) focused."

-Nick Eatman (10/11)

Zeke Improving

Running back Ezekiel Elliott played through a knee contusion in last Sunday's loss to the Broncos but didn't have any issues with it in Wednesday's practice.

"My knee felt pretty good," Elliott said. "I probably did more today than what I've been doing in the past. It's been something I've just dealing with. … I just kind of took a bad fall on it during the game and it was sore, but it's more something I just have to keep moving around, keep warm."

Head coach Mike McCarthy said Elliott would be on a "selected reps" count Wednesday, just being mindful of his practice workload heading into Sunday's game against the Falcons.

Elliott was able to finish the game against Denver, even scoring a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter when the game had long been decided.

This year, Elliott is leading the NFC in rushing with 622 yards, which is good for fifth in the entire NFL. And he's tied for seventh in the league with five rushing touchdowns.

-Rob Phillips & Nick Eatman (11/10)

Kicker Signed

The Cowboys have signed kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to the practice squad as insurance in case Greg Zuerlein (COVID-19 protocols) is unable to return in time for Sunday's game against the Falcons.

Hajrullahu and fellow free agent Brett Maher went through a scheduled workout after the Cowboys practiced Wednesday.

The Cowboys signed Hajrullahu to the training camp roster late in preseason and again to the practice squad in Week 1 after Zuerlein missed two field goal tries and an extra point in the season opener against Tampa Bay.

Zuerlein has made 14 of 18 field goals (77.8%) and 21 of 23 extra points through eight games this season.

"Still hopeful Greg can hopefully, you know, potentially be ready (Sunday)," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "I know it's against the odds, but we'll see how it goes."

-Rob Phillips & Nick Eatman (11/10)