In a gritty Monday Night Football showdown, the Dallas Cowboys snapped their two-game losing streak with a commanding 33-16 victory over Geno Smith and the Las Vegas Raiders. Trevon Diggs, the star cornerback, could only watch from the sidelines as his teammates clawed their way to a 4-5-1 record. But with a pivotal NFC East clash against the Philadelphia Eagles looming in Week 12, the Cowboys’ playoff hopes hang by a thread—and Diggs’ lingering injuries might just snap it.
Ten weeks into the 2025 NFL season, Dallas has been plagued by one of the league’s most porous defenses. Ranking dead last in passing yards allowed at a staggering 258.7 per game and 30th overall in total yards (378.7), the unit has been a glaring weak spot. Owner Jerry Jones, never one to sit idle, swung big at the trade deadline, bringing in powerhouse defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and versatile linebacker Logan Wilson to shore up the front. Add in the timely return of linebacker DeMarvion Overshown from a knee injury, and the reinforcements seemed tailor-made for a turnaround.
Against the Raiders, that revamped defense finally roared to life, holding Las Vegas to a measly 236 total yards—including a suffocating 27 on the ground. It was the Cowboys’ most dominant defensive showing of the year, a beacon of hope amid the chaos. Yet, the celebration felt incomplete without Diggs, the Pro Bowl shutdown corner whose absence has left a gaping hole in the secondary.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/tommy_yarrish/status/1991232389658423344
The nightmare began ahead of Week 7’s win over the Washington Commanders, when Diggs suffered a concussion in a freak home accident. Compounded by a nagging knee issue, he was placed on injured reserve the following week, sidelining him for Dallas’ last four games—a stretch where the team scraped together a 2-2 record. His earliest possible return? Not until the Thanksgiving blockbuster against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. That means he’ll miss Sunday’s high-stakes showdown with the Eagles, a game that could redefine the NFC East standings.
But on Wednesday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer offered a glimmer of optimism amid the uncertainty. According to Cowboys reporter Tommy Yarrish’s post on X, Schottenheimer shared that defensive end Solomon Thomas is “making progress,” while for Diggs, “all signs are that he’s doing everything he’s supposed to do.” With the team opting for walkthroughs instead of full practice, more details on the injury front are expected tomorrow. It’s a positive note, sure—but in a season teetering on the edge, any delay in Diggs’ return could spell disaster.
The Cowboys host the Eagles this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET in the electric atmosphere of AT&T Stadium. A win could ignite a late-season surge; a loss might bury their playoff dreams before the turkey even hits the table. With Diggs’ status still up in the air, Dallas fans are left wondering: Can the defense hold the fort, or will this injury update be the tipping point that unravels everything? Stay tuned— the NFC East drama is just heating up.