Felix Jones Injury: Banged Up Dallas Cowboys Must Proceed with Caution

The Dallas Cowboys escaped San Francisco with a thrilling 27-24 overtime win over the 49ers, but not before a rash of injuries befell offensive stars Felix Jones, Miles Austin and Tony Romo.

The pain sustained by Jones may prove the most costly and leaves head coach Jason Garrett with yet another difficult decision heading into a Week 3 matchup with the 2-0 Washington Redskins.

Not about whether or not to put Jones on the field, but rather who to replace him with. According to ESPN NFL insider Chris Mortensen, the Cowboys' top running back has a separated shoulder. Jones' latest injury will likely keep him out for at least a week or two, putting the onus on Tashard Choice and rookie DeMarco Murray to pick up the slack in his absence.

Jones has struggled with injuries before, as he missed most of his rookie season with a torn hamstring suffered while rehabbing from a less serious setback. The Cowboys had high hopes for Jones this season after letting go of Marion Barber in the offseason and elevating the former Arkansas Razorback to the top of the depth chart.

In truth, Jones hadn't exactly set the world on fire this season, rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries through two games. That being said, Jones is still far more explosive and experienced out of the backfield than either Choice (seven carries for nine yards) or Murray (eight carries for 21 yards).

Yet, it is those two on whom the Cowboys must lean while Jones is out, assuming the team is, you know, actually interested in winning some games and hanging around in the NFC East.

Jones' absence will only be compounded by the injuries sustained by Romo and Austin. Romo suffered a broken rib on a big hit from Carlos Rogers in the first half. He was able to return to the game later on, but only after watching Jon Kitna under center became more painful than breathing. Luckily for the Cowboys, Romo not only dodged further injury, but also engineered two scoring drives in the fourth quarter to tie up the game at 24 apiece and a third in overtime to give Dallas the "W."

Whether Romo can sustain such brilliance remains to be seen. With Dez Bryant still sidelined by a bruised quad, Miles Austin had a magnificent day against the Niners, hauling in nine passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns, but appears likely to sit out the next two or three games with a pulled hamstring. Supposing Bryant isn't ready to go against the 'Skins next week, that leaves Kevin Ogletree and Jesse Holley as the starting wide receivers in Dallas.

In other words, Romo's options, bad rib or no, will likely be limited. That essentially leaves Garrett to choose between a rock (a shorthanded running game) and a hard place (a banged up passing attack) when figuring out an offensive game plan.

And he'll need to choose wisely, with the team's next three opponents—the Redskins, the Lions and the Patriots—all 2-0 and on a roll in the early going.

The one thing Garrett should not do, though, is push the panic button and try to rush his guys back before they're ready. Flawed as they may be, the Cowboys are a talented team with burgeoning Super Bowl aspirations and attempting to strengthen the squad with weakened players early would only jeopardize its long-term health and success. Despite the early successes in Washington and Philadelphia, the NFC East in eminently winnable and will yield at least one Wild Card team.

To get to that point, though, Dallas must make sure to rest its wounded warriors now to ensure that they'll be at or near full strength when the going actually gets tough and the team needs them all the most.  

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LIFE HURTS. THIS INJURY UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DICKIES.

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