Overshown Pops Up on the Cowboys' Report With a Hamstring and Back Issue — and Dak Prescott Is Asking What This Offense Is
Thursday brought Dallas one new name to worry about before Sunday in Indianapolis: linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, suddenly listed with hamstring and back trouble. It landed in the same week Dak Prescott publicly questioned whether the Cowboys' high-scoring offense has an identity worth celebrating.
FRISCO — The Cowboys' Thursday practice report had one name on it that Wednesday's did not. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is suddenly dealing with a hamstring and back issue, Cowboys Wire's Friday headlines roundup reported from the Thursday report — a new situation to watch two days before Dallas plays at Indianapolis on Sunday. The rest of Thursday's movement was the week's running story: starting safeties Caleb Downs and P.J. Locke were upgraded to limited work while remaining in concussion protocol, with the team having looked at contingency plans for Sunday, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. took a slight downgrade as he nurses an ankle. Friday's final report and the game-status designations are the next word on all of them.
The other conversation at The Star this week is about what the offense is. Prescott has delivered a blunt assessment of the Cowboys' offensive identity, CBS Sports reported — asking, in the headline's words, 'Are we proud of it?' The numbers behind the question, as BVM Sports' summary of the CBS reporting lays them out: Dallas averages 27.4 points per game, so the scoring is real — but the Cowboys run on just 32.5 percent of plays, the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL, and average 94.1 rushing yards per game, eighth-worst in the league. Their motion rate sits at 36.5 percent, their under-center rate at 30.4 percent and their play-action rate at 24.2 percent.
The disagreement is about method, not effort. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer has suggested motion is harder to use when Dallas is trailing and can cloud the quarterback's picture; Prescott argues it can reveal defensive disguises, create favorable matchups and disguise familiar plays. Sunday in Indianapolis is the next test of whose picture wins. In a quieter team note from the same roundup, the Cowboys have nominated tight end Jake Ferguson for the 2026 Salute to Service Award, DallasCowboys.com reported.
