The Dallas Cowboys spent Week 7 of the NFL schedule on a bye. Now, they prepare to get back to battling for the playoffs with practices this week.

Report: Tony Romo Still Not Cleared To Practice, May Be Longer Returning - BTB, Tom Ryle

The question is just when will Tony Romo be cleared for those practices. It was kind of assumed he would start soon, but as our own Tom Ryle noted earlier Sunday, there is a report from Jason La Canfora that Romo might not be cleared just yet, delaying his return to practice.

While Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has made considerable progress in his return from a preseason back injury, he has yet to be cleared to practice fully and could require another MRI to do so, according to sources. To this point his MRIs have pointed to on-target healing, but given Romo's prolonged absence, more time will be required.

It’s generally assumed that Romo would need to go through a couple of weeks of practice to shake off the rust and return to the active roster on gameday, whether that’s as a starter or backup. If he doesn’t practice this week that return will likely be delayed until at least Week 10.

Looking at the Cowboys Options with Tony Romo - Jason Fitzgerald, OverTheCap.com

There has been a lot of confusion over just what the Cowboys options are with Romo in terms of trading or releasing him with respect to the salary cap. Well, Over The Cap has an extensive write-up on every aspect of what could happen. Their logical guess around trading him goes like this:

A trade of Romo works the same as a cut with the cap ramifications being based on the date of the trade. Odds are any trade of Romo would occur in March. Trading Romo makes more sense than cutting him and Romo should be able to bring back a good package of draft picks. Though Romo’s play has trended downward and he is consistently injured, the league is so devoid of talent at the position that teams would take a chance. Since Romo’s salary would be just $14 million it would be a desirable contract to trade for especially when you consider Ryan Fitzpatrick is earning $12 million from the Jets this year. Even though teams would know that Dallas wants to move Romo I think the Cowboys could still have enough leverage to get a second round pick that would likely have 2018 draft conditions attached to it based on Romos playing time and/or performance. Though a draft pick would cost a bit more on the cap and certainly in cash than any old replacement level player, it would be worth the added cost to improve.

You should read the whole article, it really does shine a light on the options.

Zeke, Dak show Dallas Cowboys the future - Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press

This article was published a couple of days ago, but I thought this was interesting. The faces of the Cowboys for the past decade has been Tony Romo and Jason Witten. Now, it looks like a new era is dawning, and those faces will be Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

"I think anytime you can come in with somebody, sometimes that gets overlooked," said tight end Jason Witten, who was drafted the year Romo signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003. "That was something for Tony and I, at that time, to be able to go through life and chase your dreams. That's a great feeling. And for them to be in the backfield like they are and having a chance to play early and have success, it's great to see relationships like that."

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett should be COTY candidate - Patrick Walker, CBS Sports

So, is Jason Garrett, almost always on the supposed “hot seat” in previous seasons, in line for Coach of the Year consideration?

Through six weeks of 2016, however, Garrett is easily already a candidate for 2016 NFL Head Coach of the Year. It's not simply having the team at 5-1 that's impressive, but it's the fashion in which it's being done. It was just in 2014 where Garrett was a frontrunner for the award after a 12-4 season that saw the Cowboys mount three separate win streaks of six, two and five games, respectively. Rookie Dak Prescott has immediately reversed their fortunes at the position, but it was Garrett and Co. coaching him up and scheming the offense to accentuate his strengths. Hence the zone read in the red zone, for example. Another would be not requiring Prescott force the issue downfield, but instead take advantage of slants and curl routes underneath to help build his NFL confidence and keep pass rushers at bay. Yes, that's just fine coaching is what that is.

Darren McFadden getting paid full salary because Cowboys are friendly, report says - Arthur Weinstein, The Sporting News

Jerry Jones must have a soft spot for fellow Razorbacks.

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly have paid Darren McFadden his full salary this season despite the fact they owe him nothing while he is on the non-football injury list. The 29-year-old running back, who underwent elbow surgery in June, has not played since. NFL salary cap expert Joel Corry reported Sunday the team has paid McFadden's full salary to date. McFadden is set to earn a base salary of $1.25 million this year.

Wow, wish I could work for Jerry!

It's the defense, not Carson Wentz, that's key to Eagles' success - Greg Bedard, SI.com

This Sunday night, the Cowboys and the Eagles clash in a battle for supremacy in the NFC East. The Eagles were impressive in knocking off previously unbeaten Minnesota.

Defense is the key to Eagles' success: The whole Carson Wentz storyline was cute for a while but what Philadelphia’s two-game losing streak and then 21–10 victory over the previously unbeaten Vikings tells us is that it’s all about Jim Schwartz’s defense in Philly. While Wentz was busy turning the ball over three times to keep Minnesota in it, the Eagles were absolutely relentless in their punishment of QB Sam Bradford (six sacks, 11 quarterback hits). The Vikings didn’t stand much of a chance.

This should be an interesting game on Sunday.

Giants' 4 interceptions key in 17-10 win over Rams in London - Associated Press

The Giants were able to get in the win column on Sunday and stay competitive in the suddenly powerful NFC East.

The win kept the Giants (4-3) in good shape in the ultra-competitive NFC East, where no one has a losing record. The Rams(3-4) lost their third straight. The Giants entered Sunday with the worst turnover differential in the NFC at minus-10. Then tight end Larry Donnell coughed up the ball on the Giants 35, leading to the Rams' lone touchdown, a 10-yard grab by Tavon Austin. But the Rams were unable to build on that early edge and instead hit the self-destruct button. Keenum threw two interceptions, both off high-sailing deflections, to safety Landon Collins, and two more in the end zone to cornerback Rodgers-Cromartie. RB Todd Gurley struggled, carrying 15 times for 57 yards, his longest run an 8-yarder. Collins returned his first pick 44 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, making several Rams miss tackles before he bowled over center Tim Barnes to draw the Giants even. "I must have run at least 100 yards on that play," said a beaming Collins, who until Sunday had only one interception in his two-year career.

Lions top Redskins 20-17 on Stafford's TD pass to Boldin - Associated Press

The team from Washington dropped a game after being on a hot streak, and lost in the final minute.