FRISCO -- A Cowboys defense that has played above expectations during a 6-1 start isn't sweating the loss of two starting defensive backs.

Cornerback Morris Claiborne (strained groin) and safety Barry Church (fractured arm) suffered serious injuries in Sunday's win against Philadelphia and aren't expected back until December.

They have been key contributors the first half of the season, combining for 100 tackles, nine pass breakups and three of the Cowboys' four interceptions.

"It's the meat of the season when you get those injuries," Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr said. "But those teams that make those runs in the playoffs and always in contention always have those guys in the background ready. They've been grooming them and they get acclimated to the system and they go out there and they never miss a beat, so that's what we hope for this week is to get these guys ready to go out there and play fast."

The Cowboys believe they have the depth in the secondary to not suffer much of a setback without Claiborne and Church.

The Cowboys will replace Claiborne with Orlando Scandrick, who has more than 50 career starts and has been the club's top cornerback the last few seasons. Scandrick will start Sunday at Cleveland at left cornerback in the base defense.

In the nickel package, Scandrick will move inside and rookie Anthony Brown will be on the outside at cornerback.

Brown, the sixth-round pick out of Purdue, started three games in place of the injured Scandrick.

"We have a lot of confidence in him," Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. "When he went out and played, he played well."

For depth, the Cowboys will likely promote practice squad cornerback Leon McFadden to the active roster. The Browns made McFadden a third-round pick in 2013.

"He's got game experience. He's got the movement we like," Marinelli said. "He seems very anxious to go in and put his helmet on people and do the things we like to do. He's come in and practiced well."

Church will be replaced as a starter by J.J. Wilcox, who started 34 games at safety for the Cowboys in his first three seasons.

The Cowboys have been rotating their safeties this year, with Wilcox usually playing one series in each half.

Despite the loss of Church, the Cowboys could still look to rotate their safeties, with Jeff Heath getting more playing time. Rookie sixth-round pick Kavon Frazier, who has been inactive for most games, should be active against the Browns.

Marinelli said Wilcox improves every week. He'll have big shoes to fill in Church, who was second on the team with 64 tackles and led the Cowboys with two interceptions.

Wilcox is known for his ability to deliver big hits. But at times, his aggressiveness has caused him to miss tackles and struggle in coverage.

Wilcox said he doesn't look to deliver highlight hits as much now as he did early in his career.

"Great players know how to turn it on and turn it off, so that was one of my big improvements I've tried to work on," Wilcox said, "and I'm still working on it to this day."

Starting safety Byron Jones said he's seen a steady improvement with Wilcox in his two seasons with the Cowboys.

"That's one of his biggest assets, just the way he hits and the way he strikes people," Jones said. "I've never seen or been around anything like that. It's really impressive. It seems like every game he's laying the pads on somebody. So we don't want him to lose that aggressiveness at all, but he's being very smart with it and he's getting better at slowing down the tempo just in case a receiver or a running back changes direction. It is a balance. You can't be overaggressive, but he's been great at that this year."

Even though the Browns are 0-8, the Cowboys secondary will have its hands full against Cleveland.

Browns 6-4 receiver Terrelle Pryor has been a constant headache for defenses. He has 41 catches for 532 yards and three touchdowns.

"He's a beast now," Marinelli said. "He's a great looking athlete out there, size, jumping, good hands. He's on his way to something special. Where he lines up is a big issue for us, but we're just going to play our defense against him. The biggest thing is if you change too much, that's when cracks start happening."

Cleveland rookie receiver Corey Coleman, the 15th overall pick out of Baylor, is also expected to return from injury to play Sunday.

Coleman, who is from Richardson Pearce, had seven catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games before breaking his hand in practice.

The Browns' talented receiver duo aside, the Cowboys believe they'll be just fine without Claiborne and Church.

"We have a group of guys who are experienced, guys who have played a lot of football," Jones said. "So we're not really worried. We're just going to play ball."