Skip Peete’s biggest headache before the season began was keeping his three running backs happy. Now, the Cowboys’ running backs coach is more worried about keeping them healthy.
Starter Marion Barber missed Monday night’s game with an injured left quadriceps, and now, it appears his backup, Felix Jones, will miss at least this week’s game at Denver. Jones sprained his posterior cruciate ligament in the first half of Monday night’s 21-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Jones stayed on the field after he was injured, but Wade Phillips said Tuesday that Jones’ knee tightened up at halftime. Jones still went 40 yards in the third quarter, but that was his final touch of the game as he finished with 94 yards on eight carries.
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"I think strength is a problem with it, too," Phillips said. "He tried to go, and he couldn’t really go during the game, but that was after he sat out for a while. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ll just have to see."
Jones’ left knee was wrapped in ice as he left the stadium Monday night, and he said it felt "weak." He was not available for comment Tuesday.
The Cowboys are calling Jones "day-to-day." An NFL team doctor said it depends on the severity of the injury (grade 1-3), with a grade 1 generally being a one-week or two-week injury and grades 2 and 3 requiring longer. But recovery times are "individual."
The Cowboys, who have a short week to get ready for the Denver Broncos, play at Kansas City on Oct. 11 before their bye week.
Barber, who was injured on the final offensive series against the New York Giants last week, could return against the Broncos. The original prognosis on Barber was 10 days to two weeks, Phillips said.
The Cowboys made the decision to deactivate Barber on Sunday, but he lobbied the coaches to let him play. Barber was upset when he was told before the game he wasn’t playing.
"I appreciate that," Phillips said. "You want them to want to play. There’s a lot of situations where the health people say, 'He’s OK,’ and he says, 'I can’t play. I’m hurt.’ You’d rather have it the other way. He’ll want to play again this week. Hopefully, we won’t have to keep him out, but I still don’t know the answer to that."
Phillips said Barber immediately left Cowboys Stadium to seek treatment on his quadriceps during the game. Barber got his injury treated twice more Tuesday.
The Cowboys, down to Tashard Choice as their only healthy running back in the second half, did discuss contingency plans in case Choice was injured. Choice had nine of his 18 carries in the fourth quarter, and he gained 48 of his 82 yards in the final period.
Choice started three games last season when Barber and Jones were out with toe injuries, gaining 345 yards from scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, so the Cowboys are comfortable with him. But the injuries to Barber and Jones could prompt the Cowboys to promote Chauncey Washington from the practice squad. Washington, who has been with the team only a week, played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season and had four carries.
The Cowboys, even with their top two running backs banged up, still did something they haven’t done in 30 years. They rushed for 251 yards against the Giants last week and 212 yards against the Panthers. It was the first time since 1979 that the Cowboys had back-to-back 200-yard rushing games.
Dallas, which has only four more pass attempts than rushes this season, ranks first in the NFL in rushing yards per game at 193.7.
"Like I said before the season, I think we were 20th and 21st the last two years in the run game, and we felt like we could improve in that area," Phillips said. "It was one of our team goals."