Whether it was the long flight to Rio, field conditions that had the league debating right up until kickoff, or just a hard-fought game against a physical Ravens opponent, the Cowboys' Week 3 outing took a toll on the roster, with a long list of players missing at least a few plays due to injury. Most of those players were on the defensive side of the ball, resulting in a smattering of snaps for some of the team's lesser-used personnel.
The Cowboys secondary was already thin, with P.J. Locke, Malik Hooker, and Cobie Durant not even making the trip. But the team lost Jalen Thompson to a hamstring after just 27 snaps on Sunday and then saw Shavon Revel go down with a knee issue as the fourth quarter began. Cornerback and safety depth will be a situation
to monitor closely this week. Veteran Reddy Steward had already been pulled up from the practice squad; he ended up playing a pair of defensive snaps and got some special teams time.
Rookie Caleb Downs was in on every defensive play for the second straight week. Third-round pick Jaishawn Barham also continues to get heavy usage as the green-dot playcaller; he played on over three-quarters of the defensive reps. The team is bringing Malachi Lawrence along much more gradually, however. The No. 23 overall pick played just 17 defensive snaps on Sunday. That number has gone down every week for the Central Florida product.
Running back Tyler Goodson made his Cowboys debut versus Baltimore, playing 11 offensive snaps just a week and a half after being signed; Emari Demercado was left inactive, hinting at a possible shakeup behind Javonte Williams in the Dallas backfield.
Shemar James was the Cowboys' special teams snaps leader on Sunday, with Justin Barron, Tyrus Wheat, Hunter Luepke, Brevyn Spann-Ford, and James Houston all getting significant time in the third phase.
Here's a full look at the Cowboys' snap counts in Week 3.
These snap count totals were distributed to the media shortly following the game and are subject to change pending further film review.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Snap Counts: Injuries cause shakeup in Cowboys secondary, new RB makes debut
