Felix Jones Injury: Cowboys Need RB to Carry Load with Romo and Bryant Banged Up

Call Tony Romo and Dez Bryant what you want—overrated, resilient, questionable—but one thing above all others is clear.

They're beat up and won't be anywhere near 100-percent if they take the field for the Dallas Cowboys against the Washington Redskins.

Which is why Felix Jones, he of the separated shoulder, is so important to the team's success and has no choice but to play despite the fact that half his torso is taped up and in a sling.

As it stands, the Cowboys' aerial attack is aching, to say the least. Aside from Tony Roma's...errr, I mean, Tony Romo's broken ribs, Dez Bryant's bruised quadriceps and Miles Austin's pulled hamstring, Dallas could potentially be without three of its best weapons, leaving Jon Kitna to lean on tight end Jason Witten while throwing errantly to Jesse Holley and Kevin Ogletree.

Holley will be in the lineup regardless, as Austin's hampered hammy has yet to heal completely, but Romo and Bryant figure to play, albeit in more-or-less hobbled capacities. 

Thus, the Cowboys should be able to throw the ball a bit. However, given the Redskins' propensity for harassing quarterbacks (seven sacks among 12 total QB hits in two games) and their expressed desire to do so in Romo's case, it's certainly in head coach Jason Garrett's best interest to make sure Romo isn't in a position to get flattened on every play.

That's where Jones comes in. As long as Jones has two healthy legs and one arm good enough to hang on to the pigskin, the Cowboys will need him to run, and run well, to take the ball out of Romo's hands and, as a result, the bull's eye off his back. Jones has been decidedly subpar thus far, managing just 96 total yards on 30 touches, with two fumbles tossed in for good measure.

He'll need to step up his production, bum shoulder or not, if the Cowboys are to keep Romo off his back and, more importantly, pull out a win over the hated Redskins.

Playing with pain should also come as a point of personal pride for Jones. He and the Cowboys have drawn plenty of criticism in the years since he was taken with the 22nd-overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, ahead of brilliant 'backs like Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Rashard Mendenhall, Jamaal Charles and Matt Forte. Rice and Forte are off to sizzling starts, but subpar play by Johnson and Mendenhall, along with a season-ending knee injury for Charles, have opened the door for Jones to show that he's not yet a bust.

That quest, both personal for Jones and professional for the Cowboys, begins against Washington.

Where it ends, and whether it ends in the Super Bowl, rests quite heavily on Jones and his tender shoulder.

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