Dallas Cowboys fans received crushing news on Monday when Brian Schottenheimer announced that star left guard Tyler Smith needs thumb surgery and will miss 4-6 weeks of action. It's less than ideal timing with the season starting this week, but step outside for a second and you'll see that no skies are falling in Dallas.
Tyler Smith's importance needs no introduction, but the Cowboys are still well-equipped to defeat the New York Giants on Sunday night. Don't be surprised if Javonte Williams and the rushing attack are a big reason why.
The Cowboys can absolutely survive Tyler Smith’s absence
The Giants had one of the worst run defenses in the NFL last season, and they traded away three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence this offseason.
New York's latest depth chart lists 35-year-old Shelby Harris and 32-year-old D.J. Reader as the starting DTs, with Darius Alexander, who posted a 30.3 PFF run-defense grade last season, as their primary backup.
Tyler Smith's replacement, T.J. Bass, is better in pass protection than he is as a run-blocker, but he's no slouch in the ground game. Between Bass, Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker on the interior, plus Klayton Adams' imaginative run scheme, Dallas should still be able to control the line of scrimmage without Smith.
The Giants’ run defense may be even worse without Dexter Lawrence
Remember how helpless Dallas' pass defense was last year? The Giants' run defense was just as bad, if not worse.
According to RBSDM, New York ranked dead last with a 1.09 rush EPA. For perspective, the Bills finished 31st with a 0.049 rush EPA. That's a staggering 1.041 difference between the bottom two teams. The G-Men weren't just the NFL's worst, they were in a class of their own.
Replacing former defensive coordinator Shane Bowen with Dennard Wilson should help, but we'd argue that losing Dexter Lawrence outweighs whatever Wilson brings to the table. Lawrence had a down year in 2025 before he was traded to Cincinnati, but that shouldn't overshadow the larger body of work. Over the past five seasons, he's arguably been the best run defender at his position and was the centerpiece of New York's defense.
Harris and Reader are fine complementary pieces at this stage of their careers, but Wilson and John Harbaugh are asking them to carry the DT room. In 2026. That's asking for trouble.
And the last time we checked, edge rushers Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kavon Thibodeaux weren't elite at setting the edge. Any notion that the Cowboys won't be able to run the ball against this Giants defensive front just because Smith won't be out there is illogical.
Javonte Williams has already shown he can punish New York
As a rookie, Tyler Booker ranked seventh among guards with a 76.9 run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus. Cooper Beebe, meanwhile, placed 14th at the center position with a 68.3 run-blocking grade in only his second season at a new position.
They are massive reasons why Dallas finished eighth in rush EPA (-0.008) and tied for sixth in rushing success rate (44 percent) in 2025. If the Cowboys' OL does its job, Javonte Williams will take care of the rest.
Williams only got one crack at the Giants last year, but he made it count, rushing 18 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, New York had all sorts of trouble bringing him down, as Williams averaged 4.39 yards after contact per carry, his fifth-best mark of the season.
Dak Prescott and Co. will get theirs through the air, but the Cowboys don't need their All-Pro guard to exploit the Giants' putrid run defense.
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