1:39pm: Testing has revealed Overshown suffered ACL, MCL and PCL tears in his right knee, Archer reports. The left knee was affected by last year’s injury, and it is a slight positive the other one will be operated on shortly. Still, a very long road to recovery exists, and when speaking about the matter Jones admitted it is uncertain if Overshown will play in 2025.
Archer notes surgery is scheduled for this week, while David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports Overshown is weighing his options regarding types of procedures at this time. No nerve damage was suffered, but today’s news nevertheless marks a major blow for team and player. Two more years remain on Overshown’s rookie contract.
8:49am: DeMarvion Overshown missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL, and he is once again facing the possibility of a lengthy recovery. The Cowboys linebacker exited yesterday’s loss with a knee injury. 
After the game, head coach Mike McCarthy said the ailment is serious, adding that further testing will take place today to determine the severity of the issue. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports Overshown’s injury is believed to consist of not only another ACL tear, but other injuries as well. Provided that is the case, his season will be over with another long rehab process in front of him. Owner Jerry Jones confirmed (via Jon Machota of The Athletic) surgery will be required.
Overshown entered the league with relatively high expectations last year based on his play in college. The Texas product tore his ACL during a preseason contest last summer, though, leaving him sidelined for his entire rookie campaign. He had managed to remain available for every game in 2024 prior to last night’s injury, handling a starter’s role along the way as expected.
The 24-year-old has amassed 90 tackles this season, which ranks second on the Cowboys. Overshown’s five sacks also place him second on the team, a testament to his impact both against the run and the pass. In a year where several other integral members of Dallas’ defense have missed time, Overshown is also in line for a notable absence. Even if the worst-case scenario were to be avoided in his case, the former third-rounder will not see the field until 2025 at the earliest.
Eric Kendricks joined the Cowboys this offseason in free agency, turning aside the chance to play for the 49ers and reuniting with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer in the process. He leads the team with 119 tackles and will be expected to remain a central contributor on defense to close out the campaign. Kendricks is a pending free agent, though, and the Cowboys will have a number of other financial priorities to deal with this offseason. It would nevertheless come as no surprise if Dallas were to attempt to keep the Kendricks-Overshown tandem in place for 2025.
In the meantime, third-round rookie Marist Liufau will likely take on a first-team role over the final four games of the season. He took over for Overshown following the injury, allowing him to add to his totals in his debut campaign. Liufau has handled a rotational workload on defense while remaining a regular on special teams as well to date. The Notre Dame product could compete for a larger share of defensive snaps in 2025 with his play down the stretch as the Cowboys move on without Overshown in the fold.
Another Leon Lett moment, 31 years later. Serves that game right, with a blatant facemask foul on Burrow not being called. Had Dallas won, the outrage would have been even worse. And people wonder why they believe games are fixed?
Gimme a break. The facemask was only “blatant” if you were watching in slow mo or were a Bengals fan.
It was a missed call, they happen in every game. Parsons should’ve drawn a half dozen more holding calls.
I meant blatant as in “obvious” … how could any official, much less from NY, not see it?
Just like the Vikings-Rams game?
Parsons always get held. Nothing new there.
NY sees it, they can’t do anything about it. Facemask are not reviewable, this is known.
They likely make the change in off season meetings. Bucs lost the ATL game 1 because they missed the one on Bucky. Would have been a 1st and take knee or kick fg to extend to double digits under 2 min.
Ancient
I reffed HS football for 20 years. Not the same level as the NFL I know but relevant. I worked at the highest level in our state. Doing the highest classification state championship games. Missing calls is an unfortunate part of the game. I have met and talked with a few NFL refs. I have a hard time believing they intentionally make calls to influence a game. The only exception is the Steelers Seahawks Super Bowl. The White Hat admitted to blowing calls in that game.
We have 4k HD tvs now that can slow down plays to frame by frame and be a perfect still pic from them. You can watch a play now in slow motion and still not be 100% sure of the call. The officials have 1 take at full speed. Some calls will always be missed. Nobody is perfect.
I won’t make excuses for the missed facemask on that play. I will give my idea on why it was missed. The announcers talked about all the eyes on the QB. All 2 of them? It made no sense. I got the idea he was talking about extra eyes on him. They have no extra eyes still a 7 man crew. College is using 8 which the NFL should go to.
Why would/could the WH miss that call? He is 100% responsible for the QB. The U could take a look but he is responsible for holding on the interior of the line. There could have been players around the legs of Burrow during the play not sure. In that case he could have looked down and missed the call. He also could have been blocked and just not see it. If he happened to glance down at the legs then was blocked easy to see him miss it. It is rough to have a big play like that missed when it possibly could affect the game.
It is tough calling games and no human can be perfect. Missed calls will happen. Having replay on all penalties or possible penalties will slow the game. What they could do is let NY make calls like that one Make it for 15 yard penalties only. Holding calls are hard to do from NY. I was an Ump and had ongoing conversations with players all the time. Talking with lineman about holding and DL working out of a hold and not just stopping and yell at me.
@proton,
Thumbs up just for acknowledging the travesty that was Super Bowl XL
And good insight from your more unique perspective as a football ref.
If people think games are fixed because of a missed facemask, then those people are aggrieved idiots. Not that we don’t have a lot of those.
He tore his what?
Everything 🙁
I’ve seen a few Cowboys games this year and that guy really stood out. He was always making big plays. Hope he has a full recovery.
Just another Troy Aikman announcing “Supastah”….wearing a Cowboy uniform…….Diggs, Turpin…all 4ft 5 of him…..Aikman is and will always be a Cowboy HOMER…and his sidekick is just around to always make him look good……
Poor take