No, the team is still 0-2 and won't be able to do anything about that until next Sunday's game in Houston, which is already shaping up as one of the biggest regular-season games in recent history.
But other than bruised egos and a few slices of football jersey
humble pie, at least the Cowboys won't be too shorthanded this week.
And after Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Bears, it was uncertain just when the likes of Jason Written and Mike Jenkins would return, if at all. But from the sounds of things, it appears that Written will be able to play against Houston despite a head injury that forced him out of Sunday's game against Chicago.
"I think everything's fine. I didn't feel like it was a concussion, I was just a little woozy there for a little bit, but everything's fine," Written said. "I feel great and I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be playing this week."
As for Jenkins, his MRI results on his right knee revealed just a bruise. Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said he expects both players to not only play Sunday in Houston, but should practice on Wednesday.
"Jenkins had a bruised knee, so he might be a little slower earlier in the week," Phillips said.
Physically, the Cowboys should be in good shape for the Texans, who just happen to be 2-0 after a convincing win over the Colts in Week 1 and overtime win over the Redskins Sunday in Washington, where the Cowboys came up short in their first game.
But mentally, it could be a different story, considering the Cowboys were picked as preseason favorites to contend for the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium. Now they're 0-2, losing to two teams that produced a combined 11 wins in 2009, and desperately searching for answers.
In fact, the players had a players-only meeting at Valley Ranch, something Phillips said typically has mixed results, but he's not opposed to the attempt.
"Again, accountability and they want to be accountable to each other," Phillips said. "They want to say what they have to say and I don't mind them. Especially our captains, when they talk to the team, I don't mind that at all."
Phillips said he also doesn't mind making a few needed changes, although he wasn't specific in the alterations.
"We can't change where we are now, but we can do something about it in Vikings jersey
the future," Phillips said. "I believe that. I believe that we can go forward and get better. I think we will. We're going to make a few changes. We're going to look at everything. We need to change the track we're on. We can't overreact to the situation, but we can do a few things here and there that can help us."
While the players did some talking amongst themselves, that wasn't really the case to the media. Monday's open locker room period at Valley Ranch only consisted of a handful of willing participants, and those who did talk uttered similar perspectives.
"We just have to stay together and keep working," safety Gerald Sensabaugh said. "It's too early to panic, but we're in a hole right now. We're 0-2 and we didn't really expect that, but that just means you have to keep working and keep fighting."
Wide receiver Roy Williams said the bad early start could have some advantages for the players.
"I think the season is going the way it's supposed to go," Williams said. "It's not what we expected by any means, and it's certainly not what we wanted. But with the two losses, it's going to help us stay focused. We don't have any room to slip up now. Can't look past anyone. We have to stick together and get the job done. Simple as that."
Nothing will likely be simple for this team, which heads to face a 2-0 Texans squad that always seems pumped to beat the Cowboys. And Houston would probably want nothing more than to put the Cowboys in a 0-3 whole heading into their bye week.
And after Houston and the bye, the Cowboys have a stretch against Tennessee and at Minnesota, followed by home games against the Giants and Jaguars.
"We have a tough schedule in front of us," Tony Room said. "We knew that before this. We knew all along that every game is going to be a fight. And that's the way it is."
In fact, Phillips used a boxing analogy to reference the overall status of Colts jersey
his team after two games.
"We're close but we're too far away," Phillips said. "We just have to fight back. It's a 16-round fight. We've been knocked down twice, and so we have to come back fighting."
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