The Dallas Cowboys were already shorthanded going into Thursday’s Thanksgiving home game against the Las Vegas Raiders (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS/NFL Network), with receiver Amari Cooperon the reserve/COVID-19 list and with receiver CeeDee Lamb still in the concussion protocol. Dallas will also be missing some of their assistant coaches: assistant head coach/offensive line coach Joe Philbin (seen above on the sidelines on Nov. 14 against the Atlanta Falcons) and assistant strength and conditioning coach Kendall Smith. Here’s more on that from Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
The Cowboys also announced before Thursday’s 3:30 p.m. game that offensive line coach Joe Philbin assistant strength and conditioning coach Kendall Smith have been placed in the NFL’s COVID protocol and will miss today’s game. Assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko will fill in for Philbin.
We’ll see how the shorthanded Cowboys fare against the Raiders. They’re 7-3 on the year, while Las Vegas is only 5-5, and they’re favored by 7.5, but the coaching losses may present some further challenges and adjustments for them.
[Jay Glazer on Twitter; photo from Matthew Emmons/USA Today Sports]
