Archer: With stars out, Cowboys show they have plenty in reserve

Cotton

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With stars out, Cowboys show they have plenty in reserve
11:46 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Dez Bryant stood on the sideline with the sleeves of his sweatshirt cut off. Tony Romo stood on the sidelines wearing an earpiece to hear the plays called during the game. Tyron Smith stood on the sideline, arms folded mostly, wearing a white T-shirt and blue sweat pants. Orlando Scandrick was wearing a full blue sweatsuit.

Collectively, Bryant, Romo, Smith and Scandrick account for more than $45 million of the Dallas Cowboys' $159 million salary cap.

In 2015, that would have spelled doom for the 4-12 Cowboys.

In 2016, it hasn't.

The Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers 24-17 on Sunday at Levi's Stadium without their starting wide receiver, starting quarterback, starting left tackle and starting cornerback.

Four games into the season, they are one victory shy of equaling last year's win total.

"We're resilient, man," said Brice Butler, who caught a touchdown pass in his start as Bryant's replacement. "We're not going to worry about the scenarios and the circumstances. We're just going to execute. Nobody's going to give us the excuse. We've just got to go out and do it. There's no Tony Romo, Dez Bryant card to get out of jail free if we lose. If we lose, we lose. So we've got to do it and we're going to keep on doing it."

The Cowboys' 3-1 start has the eternally optimistic owner and general manager Jerry Jones surprised.

"I didn't expect it," Jones said. "I really didn't expect it.

"This is a competitive league. I really didn't expect to do it without Dez, without our left tackle, without key players like Scandrick, I really didn't expect that. It says a lot about our depth. It says a lot about Jason [Garrett], our coaching. I'm really proud of those guys. They are doing a really good job. They are not looking back. They are lining up with literally who we have at game time. We warm them up out there. If they can go or if they can't, we find out at warm-up. That's who is going to play today. I like that attitude. We learned a lot last year. How to not do [it], waiting on people to get back."

In warm-ups Sunday, kicker Dan Bailey had a sore back; he missed a 47-yarder on the Cowboys' first drive. After San Francisco's two drives the Cowboys were down 14-0.

In 2015, the Cowboys would have folded.

But then Dak Prescott, who Jones was quick to remind everybody after the game is actually the third-team quarterback with the training camp injury suffered by Kellen Moore, came alive. He hit Terrance Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with 2:58 to play in the second quarter. He then completed 8 of 10 passes in a hurry-up situation before hitting Butler for a 4-yard score.

In the second half, the defense came alive, figuring out Chip Kelly's offense, holding the 49ers to three points. The Cowboys' running game came alive too. With Chaz Green replacing Smith and Ronald Leary replacing La'el Collins, the Cowboys ran 25 times for 127 yards in the second half and Ezekiel Elliott finished with his second straight 100-yard game.

He scored the decisive touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:08 to play in the third quarter.

"I think this win just shows the character," said Prescott, who has gone 131 pass attempts without an interception for the first month of the season. "We had more guys go down last week and guys had to step up and they got the job done. So it's kind of a theme, you could say, that if someone goes down someone just steps up."

Eventually, Romo (maybe Week 8), Bryant (maybe next week), Smith (maybe next week) and Scandrick (maybe next week) will be back. Theoretically their returns should make the Cowboys better, which bodes well for the future, but by winning in the present the Cowboys are making sure the future matters.

"Definitely the mojo is good right now," tight end Jason Witten said. "I think it comes from a lot of good work. … You've got to take it week to week. You move forward. That's what this team has done best. Certainly I think this is a good feeling right now and even when there's a lot of room to improve, down 14-0 and then you rally back. It says a lot about the character."
 

ravidubey

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In my experience, demonstrated depth in games (especially at QB) is usually a sign of a deep playoff run.
 
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