Believe it or not, but something's going mostly right for the Dallas Cowboys. Obviously you can hang your hat on how well the defensive unit is playing right now, even after suffering a bit of a ding to their armor at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 3. The additional good news there is, for the most part, they're nearly whole following the return of safety Xavier Woods from a hamstring injury that sidelined him the first two games. All isn't perfect though, seeing as they'll be without defensive tackle Maliek Collins when they host the Detroit Lions, out with a knee injury. The most notable absence will come by way of All-Pro linebacker Sean Lee, who recovered from a hamstring tweak in the second game of the season to be available for the third, only to then injure his other hamstring and be ruled out of the fourth quarter. It appears he'll be out for two weeks minimum, but the injury could stretch to four weeks or so -- depending on how he responds to rehab. [Don't miss a single snap of the Cowboys battle with the Lions. Here's how to catch the game] In the meantime, count on seeing rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch land his first career NFL start, selected 19th overall this past spring for this very occasion. Here's a look at the final injury report for Week 4: Travis Frederick, C (Illness) - OUT Sean Lee, LB (Hamstring) - OUT Maliek Collins, DT (Knee) - OUT Cole Beasley, WR (Ankle) - Questionable Antwaun Woods, DT (Groin) - Questionable __ Although listed as questionable, Woods did practice this week, albeit in a limited capacity. There's a strong possibility he'll play against the Lions, and that'll be big for a Cowboys' defense who'll need as much pressure as it can muster against quarterback Matthew Stafford. You can also, presumably, count Beasley in for the contest, nursing an ankle injury this week. Both will be key in helping the Cowboys back at .500 because if the team fails, you can essentially end all talk of them making the playoffs in 2018. Lee's absence thrusts rookie Leighton Vander Esch into his first NFL start, with a lot of pressure on him to prove he was worth a first-round pick. He's done well in his snaps thus far to begin the season, but he'll now be tasked with manning the WILL (weakside LB) role beside Jaylon Smith, a task made more difficult by Stafford's ability to make something out of nothing when plays break down. The good news for the Cowboys is whereas Lee got off to a rough start with missed tackles, that's not an issue Vander Esch has had, routinely bringing down whomever he gets his massive hands on. They'll need him to play well, in addition to veteran lineman Tyrone Crawford -- as he has been -- likely to take the starting 3-tech with Collins out of the picture.<doc-sep>The final injury report heading into this weekend’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions is out. As expected, both Sean Lee and Maliek Collins will not play. You can include Travis Frederick in that list for the foreseeable future as he tries to make it back from his bout with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Cowboys injury report DT Maliek Collins (knee) - OUT C Travis Frederick (illness) - OUT LB Sean Lee (hamstring) - OUT WR Cole Beasley (ankle) - Questionable DT Antwaun Woods (groin) - Questionable The Cowboys will have to replace Lee with Leighton Vander Esch. Fortunately, he’s been playing well and could help to mitigate that loss. Joe Thomas moves up in the rotation, too. Cole Beasley was questionable last week, so he’ll likely go. We’ll have to see with Antwaun Woods. For the Detroit Lions, they will be without their star pass rusher Ezekiel Ansah who remains out. That’s good news for the Cowboys who have had problems protecting Dak Prescott. Jarrad Davis and Golden Tate are listed as questionable. Lions injury report: DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder) - OUT TE Michael Roberts (knee) - OUT LB Jarrad Davis (knee) - Questionable WR Golden Tate (hip) - Questionable<doc-sep>The Dallas Cowboys have been practicing indoors so far this week in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys are in another must-win situation, having to right the ship quickly before losing pace with the rest of the NFC. The weather has been as gloomy as the mood around the team, forcing them indoors to practice at The Star in Frisco. Fortunately, they were built for that. Are they built to withstand the mounting injuries which come with every NFL season? Dallas was without the usual suspects Thursday, with no real indication any have a real shot in playing. Center Travis Frederick, defensive tackle Maliek Collins and linebacker Sean Lee all missed practice again. As for the possibles and likelies, WR Cole Beasley (ankle) and defensive tackle Antwaun Woods (groin) were both limited today. Safety Jeff Heath, who was limited Wednesday with an ankle, was a full participant. Safety Xavier Woods (hamstring) and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (shoulder) both practiced in full for a second day in a row and appear in no danger of missing the game. As for Detroit, defensive end Ziggy Ansah has been sidelined for the last couple of weeks with a shoulder injury. He missed another day of work and is looking like a longshot to play against the Dallas offensive line.<doc-sep>Getty Images Friday additions to the injury report aren’t particularly common and they are rarely a great sign for a player’s chances of contributing over the weekend, so Lions wide receiver Golden Tate and linebacker Jarrad Davis may not be in line for a big game against the Cowboys. Tate was not on the injury report at all on Wednesday and Thursday, but was limited in Friday’s practice by a hip injury. He’s been listed as questionable to play in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Davis has the same listing and same sequence of events as Tate, although it is a knee injury that contributed to his diminished status. If they do miss the game, they’ll join defensive end Ziggy Ansah on the inactive list. Ansah will miss his third straight game with a shoulder injury after being ruled out on Friday.<doc-sep>
The Detroit Lions have released their final Week 4 Thursday practice report and after not practicing all week, it should be no surprise that Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder) and Michael Roberts (knee) were ruled OUT for this week game with the Dallas Cowboys. This will be Ansah’s third game missed after injuring his shoulder in the opener and after an apparent set back — no practice this week after practicing last week — it’s understandable if fans are starting to be concerned. It’s possible the Lions didn’t like how he was responding to treatment and decided to hit the reset button, but either way, this is a disappointing development in his recovery. Roberts situation is less of a concern with the Lions keeping four tight ends on the roster, but like with Ansah, his recovery time is unknown and not looking positive. After unexpectedly showing up on Thursday’s injury report, Frank Ragnow (knee) put in a full practice and does not carry an injury designation into the game. Coach Patricia downplayed the injury in the morning press conference, stating it was just “normal practice stuff.” After missing Week 2, T.J. Lang (back) has been limited in every practice since but today he was a full participant. Like Ragnow he does not carry an injury designation into Sunday and is good to go. Two new additions to the injury report today were MIKE linebacker Jarrad Davis (knee) and wide receiver Golden Tate (hip) who were both limited today and are considered questionable for this Sunday. After having full practices all week a late-week injury carries some level of concern but with little to go on any projection would be speculative at this time. Andrew Donnal continues to progress in the right direction. He has been out of practice since Week 1 but had a limited practice on Wednesday and put together back to back full participated practices for the first time as a Lion. He will still likely be inactive on Sunday as he acclimates to the Lions scheme despite not having an injury designation any longer.