Locke suffered the injury early in Dallas’ Week 2 win over Washington. With 8:48 left in the first quarter and the Cowboys leading 7-0, Jayden Daniels completed a two-yard pass to Rachaad White on third-and-5 from the Washington 24-yard line. Locke went down away from contact, had to be helped off the field, and never returned. So much for all that preseason work building a deeper, stronger roster. Two weeks into the season, Dallas is already back to patching holes and shuffling bodies just to keep the defense standing.

“Cowboys S P.J. Locke (plantar fasciitis) has been placed on injured reserve,” Nick Harris of the Star-Telegram reported on X. “He won’t be eligible to return until Week 7. LB Justin Barron was signed to the active roster as a corresponding move. DB Reddy Steward was elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game in Rio.”

Barron gives Dallas some needed linebacker depth with DeMarvion Overshown still sidelined by a hamstring injury. Dee Winters also took a hit to the shoulder in Week 2 despite finishing with a team-high nine tackles, while rookie Jaishawn Barham was shaken up but managed to finish the game. Barron had already been elevated for the Washington matchup and had impressed during training camp and the preseason, so Dallas has now kept him on the active roster.

The secondary is where things get even messier. Dallas still has Jalen Thompson and Caleb Downs at safety, along with Markquese Bell and Alijah Clark, but Locke is now on IR, Malik Hooker is out, and Cobie Durant is sidelined with a hamstring injury. That is why Reddy Steward was elevated from the practice squad.

Steward is listed as a cornerback, but he can also play nickel and safety, giving Dallas useful flexibility across the secondary. He handled both roles last season and appeared in every game, including five starts, while recording 63 tackles, five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble.

“We did get beat up a little bit, so we’ll figure that stuff out in the morning,” Brian Schottenheimer said after the game. “But yeah, it’s a unique week, but one that we’re looking forward to. We’ll take any test people want to throw at us.”

That test now comes against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. With Dallas already patching up multiple spots on defense, facing one of the league’s most dangerous rushing combinations is hardly ideal. Still, the Cowboys will head into the Ravens matchup looking to protect the momentum from their Week 2 win.

Predictions are not exactly buying Dallas’ Week 2 turnaround

The Week 3 predictions around Dallas are basically saying the same thing in different ways: nice win over Washington, now prove it against someone scarier. Three of NFL.com’s five analysts are taking Baltimore, while the Ravens are also 3.5-point favorites. Apparently, beating the Commanders 37-20 was enough to restart the Cowboys hype machine, but not enough to convince everyone that the Week 1 problems suddenly disappeared.

There is a reason Dallas still has believers, though. Dak Prescott looked much sharper in Week 2, and CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens can absolutely make Baltimore uncomfortable through the air. Jeremy Bergman even picked Dallas 35-30, largely because he sees the Cowboys’ offense having enough juice to win a shootout. The problem is that Dallas may need exactly that kind of game, because asking a banged-up defense to contain Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry sounds less like a strategy and more like a stress test.

So the Cowboys enter Week 3 in a familiar place: talented enough to be dangerous, flawed enough to make everyone nervous. If Prescott keeps rolling, Dallas can absolutely hang around. If the defense starts leaking rushing yards again, then all that preseason talk about depth is going to look pretty funny by halftime.

That skepticism has a reason behind it. Dallas’ biggest weaknesses are about to be tested by Lamar Jackson, and Week 2 will not mean much if the Cowboys cannot hold up against Baltimore.

Lamar Jackson Stands Between Dallas and Another Win

Dallas’ first South American outing gives the Cowboys another chance to prove Week 2 was more than a temporary rebound, and Schottenheimer made it clear that Rio is being treated as anything but a sightseeing trip.

“The biggest thing is this is a business trip,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re coming down here to play a football game. You can look at the Ravens roster and know that they’re a really talented team in all three phases. We’re down here to get a victory, to get a W and our second in a row.”

The problem is that Lamar Jackson is not exactly the quarterback you want to face while reshuffling a defense. The two-time MVP has already rushed 11 times for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Dallas has allowed 126 rushing yards to quarterbacks on 19 carries, the most in the NFL. Jackson has also hurt the Cowboys with his legs before, piling up 181 rushing yards and two touchdowns across his two career meetings with Dallas.

And his legs are only part of the problem. Jackson’s ability to extend plays and throw from awkward angles can stretch a defense until something breaks, while Derrick Henry gives Baltimore another way to punish any missed assignment. One bad angle against this offense can turn into a very long afternoon.

Then there is the field. Concerns about the playing surface have already been raised, but Schottenheimer is not spending much time worrying about it.

“It’s all a part of the process,” he said. “It’s not my first time playing internationally, and I have no doubt that the field will be in great shape. They’re working tirelessly to make sure it is. And we have other plans if need be, but our guys will be ready.”

Dallas spent the offseason building depth for moments like this. Two weeks in, that depth is already being tested. Rio will show whether the Cowboys actually built enough of it.