Cowboys Defense Decimated Ahead of Brazil Trip Against Ravens

The Dallas Cowboys are packing their bags for Brazil, but they are leaving half their defensive backfield at home.

According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Cowboys have officially ruled out cornerback Cobie Durant, safeties Malik Hooker and P.J. Locke, and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown for Sunday's international game against the Baltimore Ravens. None of them are even getting on the plane.

"Mike Garafolo reported that the four players will not even travel to Brazil with the team."

Taking a massive flight to South America to play a football game is already a logistical nightmare. Doing it without three key pieces of your secondary and a starting linebacker is the kind of scheduling trap that makes defensive coordinators age in dog years.

The injuries are a brutal mix of bad luck and bad timing. Durant and Overshown are both dealing with hamstring issues, Locke has a foot injury, and Hooker is sidelined with a forearm problem.

Overshown's absence stings particularly hard. The guy has already battled through a torn ACL that wiped out his rookie year and a catastrophic multi-ligament knee injury in a previous Week 13, only to get derailed by a hamstring right as he was finally getting back on the field.

Dallas is coming off a comfortable 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders, but the Ravens are a completely different weight class. Trying to stop Baltimore's rushing attack with a patched-together back seven is a terrifying proposition for anyone looking at the game total.

You do not want to be testing out your depth chart against a team that treats running the football like a combat sport. We will see if the Dallas offense can turn this into a track meet to protect their depleted defense, because otherwise, Sunday is going to feel like a very long business trip.