'If I Can't Run, Skip or Jump': Porter Sits Again, Overshown Goes Full and Dallas Chases Its First Win Over the 49ers Since 2020

By Jake "Star" Whitfield, RF Sports Radio Cowboys voice

Cowboys Nation, Thursday gave us one piece of good news, one piece of bad news and one number that should make everybody in Frisco uncomfortable. The good news is DeMarvion Overshown. The bad news is Joey Porter Jr. And the number is 2020, the last time Dallas beat San Francisco.

The facts

Per Cowboys On SI and Blogging The Boys, Overshown (hamstring/back) was upgraded from limited to a full participant Thursday. He told reporters the hamstring had flared up with "blood and fluid just clogged up in there," and said "the problem is fixed now and I'm ready to get back to it," per The Dallas Morning News.

Porter (ankle) did not practice for a second straight day. He told DallasCowboys.com the stretch has been "definitely frustrating" and said he has started running again, something he was not allowed to do the past couple of weeks. He also pushed back on any idea that his absences are tied to his contract: "I don't know where that narrative came from." To the DMN, he put the bar for playing plainly: "I play a position where I got to guard the most athletic people on the field. So if I can't run, skip or jump, then I'm no use out there."

George Pickens (hamstring) and KaVontae Turpin (ribs) were limited again, and safety Juanyeh Thomas was added as limited. Receiver Jonathan Mingo did not practice, and safety Alijah Clark was a new DNP with an illness. Per the DMN, Dallas will be without four players Sunday: Donovan Ezeiruaku, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Goodson and P.J. Locke.

Blogging The Boys notes the Cowboys have not beaten the 49ers since 2020, Dak Prescott has not beaten them since 2017, and Dallas is a 4.5-point underdog.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: Overshown going full is the most important practice note of the week, and it is not close. With Ezeiruaku now out and Malachi Lawrence on IR, the front seven needed a playmaker back, and Overshown is the one guy on that defense who can chase Christian McCaffrey sideline to sideline.

Porter, I am circling Friday and expecting the worst. When a corner tells you he needs to run, skip and jump, and he has not practiced Wednesday or Thursday, that is a player telling you where he is. I respect him for being straight with us. Cobie Durant should prepare to start opposite DaRon Bland.

The receiver room is the sneaky worry. If Pickens is limited all week again and Mingo cannot practice, Dallas could be thin outside against a defense that makes you earn everything. That puts a lot on Dak to find the tight ends and backs, and Ferguson is one of the four already ruled out.

And the history? I do not care much about 2017. I care that this team has to prove it can win a game against a top NFC team without its full secondary.

Prediction moves a hair: 49ers 26, Cowboys 20.

What to watch next

Friday's final injury report sets the game designations: Porter, Pickens, Turpin, Thomas and Clark are the names. Then any Saturday elevations from the practice squad. Kickoff vs. San Francisco is Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. For Wednesday's report, read our Nov. 12 breakdown of the Wednesday report, and follow every update on our Dallas Cowboys page.

Radio question: is Overshown's return worth more Sunday than Pickens' would be?

Sources: Cowboys On SI - Pickens update and Thursday practice report; DallasCowboys.com - Joey Porter Jr. gives injury update as matchup vs. 49ers looms; The Dallas Morning News - Overshown should return, Porter Jr.'s status up in air; Blogging The Boys - Pickens, Porter Jr. status stays the same.