Dak Prescott has a new No. 1 receiver and there's a

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fresh leading voice for the Dallas quarterback's blockers after the Cowboys traded for Amari Cooper and fired offensive line coach Paul Alexander during an open week that was much busier than normal.And there's little question about the message owner and general manager Jerry Jones is sending as the Cowboys try to keep a perfect home season intact to offset their winless road mark in a Monday night visit from the Tennessee Titans Color Rush Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , who share the same record (3-4) and sense of urgency because of a three-game losing streak."We're more urgent because we've dug a hole here," Jones said on his radio show. "In order to really be where we want to be, which that (is) in the playoffs, then we've got to be pretty strong in our success here. We don't have time here. We don't have the room to wiggle here."The Cowboys gave Oakland their upcoming first-round draft pick for Cooper because the receivers simply haven't made the big plays the coaching staff and front office hoped would still be there despite the offseason release of Dez Bryant in a cost-cutting move.Dallas dumped Alexander in the middle of his first season and promoted former Cowboys lineman Marc Colombo because a front that has been among the NFL's best for several years simply hasn't been as good, with or without Travis Frederick. The four-time Pro Bowl center hasn't played and remains out indefinitely with a nerve disorder.Now it's time to see how some midseason upheaval, which included bringing retired former offensive line coach Hudson Houck out of retirement to help Colombo, translates to the field."I don't think it'll be that much of a change," right tackle La'el Collins said. "It's more so just us being able to do a lot of different things that we've done in the past, just kind of getting back to us playing at a high level and being more effective."The Titans are also coming off the bye week , preceded by a solid bounce-back game for Marcus Mariota after he was sacked 11 times — one shy of the NFL record — in a shutout loss to Baltimore.Mariota had a season-best 75 percent completion percentage (24 of 32) for 237 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 20-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers — the second one-point loss on the current skid.Still, the Titans have the 30th-ranked offense and passing game in the NFL. And the Cowboys aren't much better at 28th and 29th."I think everybody across the offense has a sense of urgency," said Mariota, who turned 25 this week. "If we can carry that throughout the entirety of a game, I think we can be efficient. We can do well on third downs. We can score touchdowns."Some other things to know with the Titans and Cowboys set for a Monday night showdown:STILL IN THE HUNTBoth teams have been fortunate not to lose touch with the top of their divisions.The Titans have been overtaken by Houston's five-game winning streak in the AFC South, but are just one loss behind the Texans (5-3) in the loss column. The Cowboys have the same number of losses as Super Bowl champion Philadelphia (4-4) and can pull back even with the idle Eagles in the NFC East. Washington has a shot at a two-game cushion in a visit to Atlanta.THE RUNDOWNThe Titans are 19th in the NFL running the ball even with Derrick Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Color Rush Joe Looney Jersey , and Dion Lewis in the backfield.The Titans signed fullback Jalston Fowler to the roster after returning from their bye, and coach Mike Vrabel made it clear they want to run the ball better. Dallas star Ezekiel Elliott is coming off the second-worst game of his career, a 33-yard showing in a 20-17 loss to the Redskins.DEFENSIVE SHOWDOWNDallas is giving up just 17.6 points per game, second in the NFL and one spot ahead of Tennessee at 18.1. The Titans are the NFL's best inside an opponent's 20, while the Cowboys are second."It's going to be the battle of the red zone," Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard said. "Bend, but don't break. That's been our mentality on defense."INCORPORATING COOPERCooper spent several days with Cowboys receivers coach Sanjay Lal in California. They went to a park in Oakland to work on routes, and Cooper had some video phone calls with Prescott to try to speed the process of learning one another.NO MORE GLOVEMariota said he is no longer wearing a partial glove that he was using to help with lingering numbness and tingling after injuring his elbow in the season opener.Cowboys injury list is long, but not many expected to miss Texans game It’s Wednesday, and that means the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans have released their first injury report leading up to their Sunday night game.Ezekiel Elliott was limping during the win over the Detroit Lions, but told reporters he not only was fine, he said he felt better than most weeks. He was a full participant today. Jeff Heath and Tavon Austin were also full participants after taking hits that kept them off the field for part of that game, which is a good sign that they will be ready to go.DeMarcus Lawrence is the biggest concern among the limited participants, but there is very little chance he will miss the Texans game unless something unexpected transpires. Cole Beasley, Maliek Collins, Chidobe Awuzie Color Rush Taco Charlton Jersey , and Antwaun Woods were also limited. They all will be players to watch as game day draws closer, but most should be ready to go if they are getting some work now. Collins is the biggest question mark as he was inactive last week, and we don’t know how close he is to getting back into the lineup. Having both him and Woods show up as limited might put a little extra pressure on David Irving, just now back from his four-game suspension. The question for him is how good is his conditioning after the layoff, during which he reportedly was more focused on getting right with his substance abuse issue. Travis Frederick and Sean Lee are expected to miss at least another week, while Terrance Williams’ status remains a bit of a mystery, since his absence is reportedly due to “personal issues” which still have not been disclosed.For Houston, Jadeveon Clowney and J.J. Watt are two big names to watch, since they are such a big part of the pass rush. Watt has fought through a lot of injury issues in his career, and this week is not likely to be any different. The Texans are also dealing with a lot of issues around their cornerbacks and wide receivers, and they are shallow at both, only carrying five of each. Having hamstrings involved for two WRs is always concerning, and a DNP with the corners is certainly not helpful.We’ll keep you updated with developments as they occur.
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