Three hours and 15 minutes before kickoff for Monday night’s game against the Texans, the roof of AT&T Stadium began to open. It was 4pm and the plan for the evening was for the game to be played with the roof open and the swinging doors closed.

This has only happened seven times before in the history of AT&T Stadium. cowboys I played a game with these stadium configurations. But on an evening with temperatures in the mid-60s, it seemed like ideal conditions for playing with the open roof.

Retracting the roof takes approximately nine minutes. Around 16.20 in the afternoon, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders The alumni had already completed pre-game rehearsals for their halftime show, the field had cleared and the current DCC was preparing to rehearse their “quarter change” dance routines.

I was standing at the east end when something shiny caught my eye. I looked up and to my right and I saw a thin piece of sheet metal extending downwards towards the corner of the end zone. This was not a straight and sudden decline. The slender piece was spinning and spiraling, and I only saw the last 70-100 feet of its 320-foot descent.

Although weather conditions were ideal at the time, high winds earlier in the day had loosened the wreckage as well as two pieces of sheet metal. Those pieces fell out when the roof was opened.

The first card to hit the field landed on the sideline between the outfield lane and one of the field-level suites that line the perimeter of the playing field. Within this area, a sheet fell between the goal line and the 5-yard line. Fortunately, the television set up by the ESPN crew along the sideline was closer to the 30-yard line.

This piece of metal, I’m guessing because I didn’t have a tape measure with me, was about five meters long and just under a meter wide. It was very thin, so it must have been very light because it was blowing/spinning downwards instead of falling like a brick.

Since kick-off was still three hours away, there were very few people on the sidelines and thankfully no one was hit.

For those of us standing in the field at the time, very few people saw the object fall or hit the ground because it was in the far corner of the final area near the eastern tunnel.

Within minutes, I could look up at the roof and see two stadium workers peering down from the sidelines toward the field. There was an additional piece of sheet metal laid diagonally across a podium spanning the width of the field. It appeared to be similar in size to the piece that fell on the sideline, but that’s another guess because it’s difficult to measure the size of an object located nearly 300 feet up.

The roof had to be closed so that workers could reach the sheets on the podium. Workers would either lift the sheet or stick it on the podium to prevent the sheet from falling to the ground. Finally they bolted the sheet metal to the podium.

Roof It was closed around 16.40 and out of an abundance of caution would remain closed throughout the evening.

Honestly, it was one of those moments when you realized no one was hurt and breathed a sigh of relief, you thought to yourself: “Man, just when you thought you’d seen it all!”

At this point, the current DCC had completed their pre-game rehearsals and the players would then take the field for the first portion of warm-ups. There were no players on the field when the stone fell to the ground.

More DCC: Monday was a tough night for the football team in a 34-10 loss to the Texans, but it was a special night for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders as 225 alumni spanning the years from the 1960s through 2023 joined the current 2024 roster for a halftime performance. Featuring dance routines and music spanning 60+ years.

Former DCC members flew into the city from all over the country to join the celebrations. The team’s alumni association, Spirit of DCC, has just over 800 members. This means that more than a quarter of the women who are members of DCC were part of the halftime show.

Alumni from the 1960s and 70s performed disco songs like Chic’s Le Freak and Donna Summer Last Dance. The 1980s alumni performed to songs by Prince and Michael Jackson. The ladies of the 90s changed the tempo with the songs of Gloria Estefan. Come on and Drive By Quad City DJs. 2000’s DCC danced with Pitbull fireball as well as other newer hits.

And in the grand finale, where the decades danced together, the song was Sister Sledge’s song. We are a family.

If you’re a long-time fan who associates DCC with the old song “If they could see me now, that old game of mine” (If My Friends Could See Me Now) Of course they used that song. It was originally used when all the ladies were taking to the field.

For really long time fans: remember the pigtailed DCC from the 1970s? Her name is Tammy and she was front and center in her band representing the 1960s and 70s. He wore number 77 on his rookie season DCC jersey. This is his second time performing the alumni show since his cancer diagnosis. It was truly inspiring to watch him dance with such agility and joy.

As for what happened before and after the halftime, it wasn’t very enjoyable. Injuries continue to increase.

M*A*S*H unit: The offensive line looked like this: PUREE unit as three Cowboys players were sidelined. There were injuries in the fourth quarter.

The first to exit the game was rookie first-round pick Tyler Guyton. The starting left tackle injured his shoulder on the play where both he and Cooper Rush coughed up the ball, which Texans defensive end Derek Barnett would eventually return for a touchdown. And yes, you know a night when two guys fumble on the same play is a tough night for the offense.

Guyton was treated for his shoulder and did not return to action. Asim Richards finished the game at left tackle. Guyton was not benched as he lost the football after recovering Rush’s fumble. He was treated for his shoulder.

With 8:27 left in the game, right winger Zack Martin needed help as he limped toward the tent (and later the tunnel) with a left ankle injury.

In fact, this was Martin’s second departure from the game. He came charging to the sideline in the final seconds of the first half as if he couldn’t hold his breath. It looked really weird. Then he vomited, so I called him sick. When Martin and his teammates returned to the bench at halftime, I learned that Martin was not sick. He received such a blow that something got stuck in his throat and he coughed and vomited.

Again my thought was: “Dude, just when you thought you’d seen it all!” I thought the falling metal plate would be my weirdest side report tonight! It wasn’t. Martin won the award for weirdest report.

As for the third of the three injured in the fourth quarter, Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith injured his left ankle. He didn’t go into the tent and athletic trainers didn’t re-tape his ankle on the sideline. However, Smith did not return to action either. With only one more possession left in the contest, Brock Hoffman remained in the game in place of Smith.

After the game, Smith said his ankle would be further evaluated on Tuesday.

But when the injury bug bites, it hits multiple position groups.

Buy a ticket: For the second week in a row, there were so many injured Cowboys that at one point in the second quarter a line formed to get into the blue medical tent on the sideline.

Backup safety Markquese Bell hurt his left shoulder on the kickoff return. Head athletic trainer Jim Maurer had to hold Bell’s left arm in place as he walked from the field to the tent. His shoulder had popped out of its socket, so the medical team had to snap him back into place. Bell was initially listed as “questionable” but was later downgraded to “out” at halftime.

Linebacker Buddy Johnson waited while Bell was treated in the tent. He was injured on the same kickoff. His treatment included a cognitive evaluation, which he passed and later returned to play.

The butler did this: Cornerback Josh Butler was a surprise starter after being transferred from the practice squad to the 53-man roster earlier in the day. Butler had been elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster in the previous two games, but received limited playing time in both games, with only nine defensive snaps against Philly in addition to work on special teams.

Butler was the coaches’ choice to start at cornerback over rookie Caelen Carson, who started five of the first nine games this season in place of injured Daron Bland (foot) but remained on the bench in Butler’s favor.

You may not immediately recognize Butler’s name, but there’s a good chance you already know his back story.

In 2019, a college player went viral on social media when he took the field with his two dogs, Remi and Roxy, during the final days of the Michigan State Spartans team. The reason for this is that the young man lost his parents while he was still at university.

That young man is Butler, and he uses the passing of his parents to fuel his fire when it comes to assisting the Cowboys PR Department with various breast cancer awareness events, especially in honor of his mother, Ladrida.

Personally, I support Josh because we have visits at these various community events and I have seen his dedication on and off the field.

Speaking with experienced corner player Jourdan Lewis before the game, Lewis also stated that he supports Butler because he is serious, quiet, calm and hard-working.

Lewis was inactive Monday night with a neck injury, but was on the sideline helping young DBs.

Israel Mukuamu filled Lewis’ role in the slot as the nickel corner. Kemon Hall, who was promoted from the practice squad for the first time this season, was the backup in the slot. Hall was one of two gunners along with C.J. Goodwin.

Hall replaced wide receiver Jalen Brooks on the punt coverage unit due to Brooks’ inactivity. With CeeDee Lamb (back spasms) able to play and Jonathan Mingo making his Cowboys debut, Brooks was declared inactive at WR (coach’s decision). LB Damone Clark, who played a lot of special teams, was also inactive on game day as coaches decided to work harder at other positions, such as DB, due to injuries.

CeeDee is doubtful heading into Monday: CeeDee Lamb appeared on the injury report after suffering a back spasm during practice on Saturday. By Monday, staff weren’t sure if he could wear a suit. I got the impression that if the match had been on Sunday he wouldn’t have been able to play.

Dak watches from the stand: Unlike last week, Dak Prescott only spent a brief portion of the pregame period on the sidelines. He was just five days away from surgery to repair his injured knee. Dak was on crutches. When the match started, he watched from the coach’s bench. The week before, before surgery and crutches, Dak was on the sidelines during games wearing a headset so he could hear play calls and assist QBs Cooper Rush and Trey Lance.

Playing from behind: Heading into Monday night, the Cowboys had led by just 2 minutes, 15 seconds in each of their first four home games. The number remained the same after Monday night. That’s 300 minutes of playing time this season and barely more than 2 minutes of playing time. Wow.

Kristi Scales is a sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. He writes this column for The Dallas Morning News after every Cowboys game.

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