FRISCO, Texas — The 2020 NFL season has brought a lot of changes for everyone involved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the Cowboys have had only two players placed on the COVID-19 reserve list since the start of the season, the team's next opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, have been ravaged. The Cowboys' game in Baltimore, originally scheduled as a night game on Thursday, Dec. 3, has been postponed twice, first to an afternoon start on Monday, Dec. 7, before being moved to Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7:05 p.m.
The Cowboys have had to adjust to those changes while also still emotionally trying to cope with the shocking death Markus Paul, the team's 54-year-old strength coach, who passed away last Wednesday after falling ill at the team's headquarters a day earlier.
Paul collapsed at the team facility around 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 24, and was on life support until he passed, which was less than 24 hours before the kickoff of the Cowboys' annual Thanksgiving Day game. The 41-16 blowout loss to the Washington Football Team put the Cowboys (3-8) in last place in the NFC East.
Coach Mike McCarthy is taking a light hand with his team as he gets them back focused on football, treating the weekend off like another bye week. They went through light practice on Wednesday, then watched the Ravens (6-5) fall to the Steelers (11-0), 19-14, together in position groups.
That game was postponed from last Thursday to Sunday to Tuesday before finally being played on Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh due to the Ravens putting 23 players on the COVID-19 list since Nov. 23.
The Cowboys will participate virtually in a memorial service for Paul at 10 a.m. on Thursday before getting into a normal work week for Tuesday's game against the Ravens. Paul's services will be held at the North Colony Church of Christ in The Colony.
"These are tough times we're in," McCarthy said. "We understand that. The biggest challenge is what personal emotional path that we're on."
McCarthy acknowledged that the time off was good for the Cowboys so they could process Paul's death mentally. Part of the focus this week was trying to align with the family on a memorial service, whether the game would have stayed on Dec. 3 or not.
"So the fact we're able to have time to reflect," McCarthy said, "I think you can say it definitely helps us from that perspective, no doubt."
The Cowboys spent time last Wednesday before the Washington game offering individual remembrances of Paul. But the memorial service on Thursday will still be tough on the team, according to linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, as it closes a chapter on what has been an emotional, exhausting week.
"That's an understatement to say the least, I would say," Vander Esch said. "When you lose a brother of your team and coaching staff, a father figure to a lot of the guys, that takes a toll on you. I know it's still taking a toll on a lot of us. He's an amazing dude and I'm going to miss him here every single day. I'm just going to continue to keep praying for his family and praying for him and just knowing that he's in a good place now.
"Yeah, it's been a struggle, but we're all here for him and we're all here for his family, the strength coaches that work with him every day. It was a rough way to start the week."
The Cowboys have already begun game-planning for the Ravens, but McCarthy said watching his next opponent play live on Wednesday presented a unique opportunity to hone in on certain aspects of the Ravens' play with individual groups and as a team in real-time.
"Frankly, you never really have an opportunity to watch your next opponent play live after an installation day," he said. "So the fact that we have had a chance to meet virtually Tuesday on Baltimore, just to go through the introduction, the presentations, the personnel changes, trying to anticipate some of the things that are in front of us because of obviously what they're going through with their COVID challenge and who may be able to play in our game. We spent today on normal down and distance and third down, so to be able to watch them play live, I think will be a little benefit if we did it together."
"We've all watched Monday night games before but rarely do you get to watch a game live after your two days into your preparation."
While the Cowboys got extra time to prepare for the Ravens, it will result in a short week before the following week's game at the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec 13.
McCarthy said the Cowboys are prepared for whatever and fully understand that changes and adjustments are the new normal in 2020.
"I view it as the state of the times," McCarthy said. "It's totally something none of us can control. There are so many moving targets here because of the state the league is in. Our outlook is we have to be prepared to play on any day of the week, moving forward. That is our mindset. As a staff, it's our job to get the team trained and prepared to win a football game regardless of what day it's played. That is the mindset we are in right now."
