The Falcons are doing their absolute best to block out the information on the Dallas Cowboys’ injury report.
A depleted Cowboys team will face the Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Dallas will play without superstars Dez Bryant and quarterback Tony Romo, the heart-and-soul of an offense that carried them to a 12-4 record last season and a trip to the playoffs.
Despite the losses, the Falcons (2-0) expect the wounded Cowboys to come out swinging.
“A wounded dog is a dog that’s going to fight the hardest,” Falcons fullback Patrick DiMarco said Wednesday. “We’re going to be prepared for them to come and be ready to fight. It’s going to be a tough game, and we’re going to be ready for them.”
Brandon Weeden, who has a 6-15 record as a starter, will take over for Romo. Terrance Williams has assumed the No. 1 wide receiver spot.
“Really, it comes down to us each week,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We’ll never let who we’re playing determine how we are going to get ready.”
Quinn expects the Cowboys (2-0) to support Weeden in his second start with the franchise. He was signed as a free agent over the 2014 offseason after washing out in Cleveland. He was selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the NFL draft in 2012 by the Browns.
“They have a terrific team,” Quinn said. “We know that all across the league, people get injured and other guys step up. That’s just part of the league that we’re in. We expect no different from him. We know it’s going to be a heck of a fight.”
The Cowboys likely will try to lean more on their defense, which ranks third in the league and gives up 257.5 yards per game.
“It shouldn’t affect us, who we are, our plan and what we’ll do on Sundays,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “We’ll be aware of the guys weren’t going against. But I don’t think our approach changes at all from what we’ve done the last couple of weeks. It’s about focusing on our preparation day to day.”
The Dallas defense is led by weakside linebacker Sean Lee.
“He’s a fantastic player,” Quinn said. “I think it’s the instincts probably that jumps out. Sometimes when you see a defense and this is where he’s supposed to be when he’s blocked, but he knows where the play is going and he’s already past that spot.”
Also, the Falcons’ defensive front will have a major challenge in going against the Cowboys’ highly touted offensive line.
“They work well together,” Falcons defensive end Jonathan Babineaux said. “A lot of them made the Pro Bowl last year. It’s going to be a challenge up front like any other game, we’ll accept the challenge.”
Babineaux also expects Dallas to rally behind the replacement players.
“Injuries happen all around the league and we have no control over that,” Babineaux said. “We just have to go out and continue to play week-in and week-out. We’re banged up also. Every team is suffering from some type of injury.”
Dallas coach Jason Garrett, who was a backup quarterback during his career, will share his insights with Weeden.
“It’s a challenge for everybody to rally around the backup,” Garrett said. “You have to trust the guy, who’s coming in to play.”
The Cowboys already were talking like a confident bunch.
“Tony is a unbelievable leader and player,” Lee said. “Defensively, we know that we have to continue to get better. We know that we are going to have to handle more of the load.”
