For all intents and purposes, the Dallas Cowboys 2024 campaign is over, but that doesn’t mean they are going to roll over, as they proved when they pulled off a shocking 34-26 upset victory on the road over the Washington Commanders in Week 12. And now, their offense is set to get a boost in the form of wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

The Cowboys have been without Cooks since Week 4, as he suffered an infection in his right knee during a minor medical procedure that resulted in him landing on injured reserve. In his absence, Dallas has struggled to find a consistent secondary playmaker to work in tandem with CeeDee Lamb.

Cooks was expected to be that guy this season, and while his return is obviously coming a bit late, it should provide Dallas with a boost on offense. After getting himself back on the practice field this week, the Cowboys activated the speedy wideout ahead of their Thanksgiving Day game against the New York Giants.

Injuries have hurt Dallas this season, as star quarterback Dak Prescott is out for the year with a hamstring injury, and their defense has seen several key players such as Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and DaRon Bland miss multiple weeks with their own respective ailments.’

While the Cowboys were short on playmakers before Cooks’ injury, losing him for an extended period of time really hurt their offense. With no running game to speak of, opposing defenses were able to lock in on Lamb and limit his production, which left the unit in a tough spot.

The issue for Dallas’ offense now, though, is that Cooper Rush is under center instead of Prescott, and he hasn’t exactly been all that effective during his first three starts of the year. Having Cooks should help, but there’s only so much the team will be able to do with their backup quarterback under center.

The good news for the Cowboys is that the Giants have been even worse than them this season, so they could end up earning their second straight win in Week 13. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 28.