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Cowboys' George Pickens cleared for 49ers after hamstring injury, and he isn't subtle about it
George Pickens has no injury designation for Sunday after missing the Colts game, so the Cowboys get their No. 2 receiver back for the 7-1 49ers.
The Dallas Cowboys will have George Pickens back for Sunday's home game against San Francisco. The receiver hinted at it after Friday's practice, and the team then made it official. Asked whether his hamstring would keep him out a second straight week, Pickens told reporter Nick Harris, "Tell your wife or your girl to turn the TV on, and she'll see me on the field," according to NY Post Sports.
The paperwork matches what he said. NBC Sports reported that Pickens is not on Dallas' final injury report and will play in Week 10. He was limited Wednesday and Thursday. According to Yardbarker, Brian Schottenheimer said Pickens moved well on Thursday and that he wanted to see the same thing Friday.
The hamstring has been a problem for weeks. Bleacher Report noted that Pickens first appeared on the injury report in Week 7 and played the next two games before he had to sit out in Indianapolis. NBC Sports suggested that letting him play through it against Arizona in Week 8 was probably a mistake. The Colts game was the first he had missed all season. Heavy has him at 39 catches for 533 yards and two touchdowns in eight games, with nine receptions of 20 yards or more.
What it means for Sunday against San Francisco
Dallas got by without him last week. CeeDee Lamb had 195 receiving yards in the 27-23 win over the Colts, and that win kept the Cowboys from dropping to three games under .500. At 4-5 they sit across from a 49ers team that leads the NFC at 7-1. Putting Pickens back opposite Lamb should make it harder for San Francisco to roll its coverage toward one side.
The season lines show a team that scores a lot and gives up almost as much. Dallas has scored 246 points and allowed 236, roughly 27.3 to 26.2 per game. Six of its nine games have been decided by eight points or fewer. Home has been the bigger problem. The Cowboys are 1-3 at AT&T Stadium, with losses to Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Arizona, and 3-2 on the road, including wins in Philadelphia, Houston and Indianapolis.
The board for this game covers 12 venues, and San Francisco is favored at all of them. On Novig the 49ers are -194 on the moneyline and Dallas is +190. Novig lists the spread at 49ers -4.5, priced +106 on San Francisco and -111 on Dallas. The best number anywhere on the 49ers is Pinnacle's -4 at -103, so the venues are half a point apart on the spread. Novig has the total at 55.5. BetRivers has the best under at 56, priced -109. Hold across the sportsbooks runs from 2.9% to 5.0% on the spread and from 3.7% to 5.0% on the total. A total in the mid-50s reflects how Dallas games have been going this season.
After Sunday, Dallas stays home to face Tennessee on November 22. The Cowboys are favored by 7.5 in that game.