Opening Statement:

"This game plan in terms of where we're going. We're excited to get going. For once, I will say it's nice to have a short week. You don't normally hear me say that, in this case I wish it was even earlier. All three phases rocking together, that's the goal. Get that part of our complementary football exactly like we want to do it. I said yesterday, I'd give you the roster moves or any injury updates. I'll work you through some of that right now. Last week we worked [WR] Noah Brown back into practice and unfortunately his groin didn't respond. And given that, we'll place him on IR and the aim is to get Noah fully right. He's such a tough competitor but it's the right call right now to get him into that spot. And let's get him all the way back and ready. We also opened the 21-day window for [CB] Jonathan Jones, so it'll be great to have him back at practice today and we also signed defensive end Drake Jackson. He's still working back from a knee injury, but we are glad to have him here. So, all that said, glad to get rolling with you guys."

On if Brown had a setback:
"I would say, it wasn't a setback. It just hasn't responded, you know, quite the way that it needs to. So, I wouldn't call it a setback. Hindsight's 20/20 and I think the main thing is, man we're going to get him right. That's the ultimate goal to get there. So, we know that means four more weeks and the guy's working incredibly hard at it. And so, we want to make sure to hit all the marks that we can with him."

On WR Terry McLaurin:
"He'll practice this week, and I'll have a better sense where we're going because today is going to be more at a jog through pace where we're not full speed up and going, but that'll be more as we get into tomorrow. But, I'll have a better assessment after we go through like some full speed, you know, routes and movements to see where he is at. But I'm excited where he is trending."

On if Brown's injury will require surgery or just more time:
"More time and just, we're going to push it and make sure the recovery's right, the strength is right and just kind of go through all of it to make sure he's really ready."

On if he's had a chance to talk to Brown:
"I have obviously previously, but not specifically today. But I will this afternoon. Like he's one of these competitors that he takes it hard. He cares so much, he loves it. And so, you know, moments like now are hard because of who the competitor is but the good news is that, you know, let's put the plan in place that we can absolutely nail it to get him back and that's what we'll aim to do."

On concern surrounding DE Dorance Armstrong's hamstring injury moving forward:
"I think there's always concern in and out and he kind of showed me, I'm going to battle through it to go. We won't really hit our speed stuff until tomorrow, so I think he'll have a better shot. He's able to do the walks and that kind of stuff today. So, I'm encouraged by that. But until you load it, go. The good news is like I said, he's in, he's out, but meaning coming back and forth into the game, but I'll have a better feel for him tomorrow as we get a little bit more movement."

On the preparation that goes into getting a fast start at the beginning of a game:
"I do, and I also want to dig in to the leaders and say, 'What are some things that we need to do to hit it?' And it's not a score as much as an attitude, a mindset to go. I want to make sure I'm clear on that because if you only base it just on that, I think you could miss it. And so, it's not that. And I liked the intentness going, getting ready and like I said, the offense had a long drive. We turned the ball over at the end of it, but it is important. And so, it's more collaboration to say, 'Is there anything else we need to do and hit differently?' I've had those conversations, and I'll continue to tweak it until we get it exactly right."

On how opposing defenses change their gameplan to face the team's offense without Brown and McLaurin:
"It depends. I think we're on the field some, I think it's also their matchup too, you know, in terms of they want to play more man-to-man or doing things differently. The run game, not counting last game into that space, but I think that's been one of the areas we've started to really hit our marks. And that alone changes some things because having the ability to go down and stop the run, some of the ones, I think that could be as big a factor as anything. But for sure that's part of it. But you just have to navigate how you go. And here you're there, like, there's a way to win every game. You just have to go dig in and find it. And it might not be the same every week. And you know, we're equipped to do that."

On the defense's psyche since Monday night:
"Yeah, I think, and I also don't want to portray the sky as falling either, you know, there's some things that I like about how we're doing some things on third down, we're not getting the ball enough honestly and that's one part of playing good defense. We're not hitting our tackling, you know, to the space that I think is the standard that we've set, but we've also added some moments where we know what good can look like and what it does. So, we want to make sure we're capturing that. Meetings wise, it's tense, it's tight. Like it should be when you're trying to dig in and find the right answers. And that's what's cool about this group, that it's not somebody pointing or doing that. It's, 'Hey man, let's go through our thing together and how we'd go about it'. So, you're right, it's a great challenge with Dallas [Cowboys] and you know, the weapons they have and [Dallas Cowboys QB] Dak's [Prescott] honestly hitting his marks at a high level right now. That's what the tape tells me so far and we're looking forward to the challenge."

On McLaurin's biggest step forward last week and on what else he needs to see:
"We call it like a game simulation where you run different routes, you work different movements. Sometimes in a rehab you could see it's predicted where you're going to go. And so off schedule throws, how to do different things. So that's a good step when you're moving forward. So that's part of the process, like in your return to play to like simulate more closely related plays. So, the fact that we're moving in that direction, that's a good sign."

On what goes into the decision to put someone on IR:
"Through the medical team and lean into what the guidelines that they want to set and how to go, how long is a predicted rehab of this type of nature going to take. It's not exact. That I can tell you. Not everybody, you know, heals in the same way, in the same speeds with the different types of injuries. So, if it was exact, it'd be super easy to do. And so, then there's all sorts of other factors. 'Did it respond, did it not? And where are we at?' You just try to play it as close as you can, knowing that it's not always going to be on this timeline or that. So, think what I've learned is just man, have patience and listen, you know, to the player. They know it best, they really do. They're going to push it hard to see where they can go to, but they know it best. And we just follow those guidelines. We got a strict procedure that we go through. So, we just try to stay connected to that and follow and listen."

On G Sam Cosmi's status:
"Yeah, I liked what I saw from him last week. First padded work, he got a lot of reps, and we expect to do that kind of same process with him this week, but it was a hell of a start for him to get back and get rolling. He's really put the work in. So, anticipating seeing that continue and the trajectory going up."

On being happy it's a short week:
"Well, I think when it doesn't go your way and this game was a hard one for us, in a lot of ways we beat ourselves and those are as hard a loss to deal with. When it goes down to the end, you hit your marks, they do, and it doesn't go your way, those are ones that, that's the life of a competitor. When you beat yourself that one hurts more because you didn't finish it or didn't play it in a style or attitude or things that you wanted to do. So, those are important, and we want to make sure the lessons that are meant for us are learned and also get it corrected. That's been uncharacteristic of us in that way and we certainly plan on getting that fixed."

On the two fumbles by RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt and on if he's concerned:
"Yeah, it's a great question. We've got to give him the space to grow for sure and prove that those lessons are learned. Sometimes you don't really get to show that you've learned them until you're back into that spot. And so, we want to make sure that, man, he's still growing, and this is a rookie player. They're going to have some ups and some downs just like any other guys. And I'm certain he's made of the right things to come battle through it. I can remember a few weeks back we were talking about [T Josh] Conerly [Jr.] and early start on some guys, and he said, man, we're going to fight through it and get there. And so, this is no different to me. This is learning, growing and he'll bank on these experiences and they're hard to go through, but it is necessary. It sucks when you go through them, but when you come out the other side there's a lot of value that comes with that."

On his message to the team this week facing Dallas:
"Yeah, it's really awesome to be in the NFC East. It really is. And there's times we'll just kind of show some of the highlights from the years past of people that have been in this space in these games. So, we like that, we like what it stands for, but at the end it's about us and getting ourselves ready and getting the team ready and that's really what my message was for them today. We're going to prepare really hard for what we need to, but our play style and attitude is what's at hand. And yeah, it's just cool to be part of a division that has some long-term rivalries that are cool."

On how big of an impact Dallas Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey can have on the game:
"Yeah, Brandon's been on it. And playing there, honestly, even adds to some of that a little bit for the distance of the kicks, not dealing with some of the weather, so playing there inside can make some of the field goal attempts and that type of thing even longer. But they got a good special teams crew. It's a good matchup, our guys, their guys, it's a big part of this game. [Dallas Cowboys Special Teams Coordinator] Nick Sorenson, who's the special teams coordinator there, known for a long time, and both units really have some heavy hitters on their special teams and Brandon for them is right in the middle of it between the kicks – both teams like to cover, like to hit. And so, it'll be a fun matchup for sure."

On watching last year's tape to prepare for this week:
"You can look at as a player, some of the matchups, a style, an attitude of what a player may do, what they look like at the line, how would they pass protect. As far as the scheme goes, that's for this season, that's that. So, it is worth it just from the personnel side of things and seeing things and how they would play and what their strengths would look like. They've also added some new faces like we have into some different spots at receiver, at running back, at defensive end, at other locations. So, you do look at it, but it's the tape from 2025 that you really dive into. And now that we're six games in, there's more tape obviously, so you don't have to go back as much."

On the sun light coming into AT&T Stadium during the game:
"Yeah, it's a great question and yeah, this time of year it could come into effect. That you want to make good decisions when you can regarding where it would look like, where a glare would be. So yeah, it's definitely something that as a coach I think about and obviously we'll talk to the team about, but yeah, you're on it."

*On signing Brown in the offseason despite his injury history: *"Well, we knew we wanted him back for sure. That was like evident coming into it. I think that goes with it, that when there's an injury history on somebody that you want to know what that looks like and who would be there. Coming into camp, thought we had a big, competitive group at that spot. I love what he brings to us outside. But yeah, I don't know if it's any different than any other spot, where a guy gets banged up and okay, who would be next in line to do those things? So, not a lot different than a lot of other spots. Yeah, we're bummed that he's out and looking forward to getting him back."