Miles Austin Injury: Wide Receiver's Hamstring Injury a Big Blow to Cowboys

We don't really know whether or not there are actual creatures called "injury bugs." But if they do exist, they were out and biting at Candlestick Park on Sunday.

Just ask the Dallas Cowboys. In the midst of their 27-24 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys suffered a slew of injuries to key players. Most notably, quarterback Tony Romo (once fracture to his ribs and a punctured lung), but the team also saw running back Felix Jones dislocate his shoulder and wide receiver Miles Austin aggravate a hamstring injury.

Per a Monday report from ESPNDallas.com, the news regarding Romo and Jones is pretty good, as both of them should be good to go for Monday's home opener against the Washington Redskins.

Austin, on the other hand, is not so lucky. He is not expected to play on Monday against the Redskins, and could be out until October 16 when the Cowboys hit the road to take on the New England Patriots.

Just to make sure we're all clear, this is indeed the same MAustin who caught nine passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers. He's pretty darn good, and he's certainly not the kind of guy the Cowboys want to be without for a couple of weeks.

But that's just the way it is at present. And with Austin out, the pressure falls on second-year receiver Dez Bryant to be Romo's go-to wide receiver. He has all the tools to be just that, but... well, you just never know with Bryant.

Oh, by the way, Bryant is also hurt. He missed Sunday's game with a bad thigh bruise, which you have to think explains why Austin got so much attention. The Cowboys had better hope he is good to go when Monday's game against the Skins rolls around.

Regardless, things just are not going to be easy for the Cowboys as long as Austin is out. He is, for all intents and purposes, one of the best wide receivers in the game, and the Cowboys offense is simply much easier to defend without him in the mix.

That obviously bodes well for Dallas' incoming opponents, the next three of whom (Washington, Detroit, New England) are 6-0 to begin with.

Good luck, Cowboys.

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