On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys have an excellent opportunity to move up to 2-1 for the season against the winless Chicago Bears on the road. Yet, they head into Week 3 as a road underdog after their defense looked extremely shaky against the Giants, giving up 37 points, mostly due to the struggles of the secondary. Against his former team, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus needs to find solutions to give the Cowboys a chance. Unfortunately, however, he will likely have to do that without star cornerback DaRon Bland for the second straight week.
Bland suffered a foot injury on Monday after Week 1 and has not been able to practice since then. He ended up missing the Giants game and has yet to return to practice. Per Cowboys insider Jon Machota, the defender was listed as DNP once again on Thursday's injury report.
DaRon Bland Will Likely Miss His 2nd Straight Game for the Cowboys
On its surface, this development is not very surprising. Todd Archer of ESPN had initially reported that Bland "could" miss a "couple of weeks" due to his right foot injury. At the same time, the fact that the All-Pro corner has yet to practice, even as a limited participant, raises questions, especially because of his injury history.
Bland missed ten games last season with a stress fracture on his left foot that required surgery. The injury was initially expected to keep him out between six and eight weeks. Even though this injury is on the other foot, his slower-than-expected return from a foot issue last season understandably has Cowboys fans fearing the worst.
Now that Bland will almost certainly miss Week 3, Reddy Steward should continue to see an expanded role. After missing Wednesday's practice with illness, fellow starting CB Trevon Diggs was a full participant on Thursday and should be ready to go against New York. The Cowboys will rely on Diggs and Kaiir Elam on the outside, while Steward will get the nod at nickel corner.
In his first NFL start ever, Steward performed admirably. In fact, he was the highest-graded member of the Cowboys' secondary in Week 2 with a 73.6 defensive grade on PFF. Safeties Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, along with Diggs, however, left plenty to be desired. Against Chicago's talented weapons like DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, the Cowboys' secondary will need to step up in Bland's absence.
Whether they do or not will likely determine who gets the W on Sunday's big clash at Soldier Field.