Sean Lee says he is playing but can the Cowboys defense finally hold up if he can’t?

It’s been well documented that the Dallas Cowboys defense is simply not the same when linebacker Sean Lee is off the field.

They don’t call him General Lee for nothing.

Last season, the Cowboys were 1-5 in games without Lee and the defense allowed roughly 11 points more per contest.

So the thought of Lee nursing a hamstring, which caused him to miss practice on Wednesday and be limited on Thursday heading into Sunday’s game against Seattle Seahawks, surely raises some alarm bells, right?

Well, if the 20-13 victory against the New York Giants is an indication, the terror alert for the defense without Lee has dropped from severe-red to blue and guarded.

Lee played just 41 snaps and was off the field for the bulk of the fourth quarter due to a tight hamstring, yet the defense held up with rookie Leighton Vander Esch and Joe Thomas subbing for him at weak side linebacker. Vander Esch recorded seven tackles on 28 snaps in the game.

“I think the biggest thing with all of our players and particularly someone like Sean is to listen to your body,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I thought he did a good job of that the other day in the game. He had some tightness in his hamstring and made everybody aware of it. You’ve got to be careful about being dumb tough when you’re dealing with soft tissue injuries. We’re fortunate that we had a couple of guys we could put in there and feel like we can continue to maintain a high level of performance on defense and hopefully get him healthy.”

On his radio show Friday, owner Jerry Jones called Lee a game-time decision for Sunday.

For the record, Lee, who initially termed his injury as just cramps, says he will be on the field with his teammates in Seattle.

“I plan on playing in this game,” Lee said. “I feel good. I’m getting better. I’ve been working hard and I plan on playing.”

That he returned to field for the final onside kick against the Giants after being absent since the final play of the third quarter says injury may not be as serious as the hamstring strains that kept him out of the better part of five games last season.

Still, how does he explain diagnosing the injury as cramping when the athletic trainers are calling it hamstring tightness?

“It’s a cramp in my hamstring,” Lee said. “They are the same thing. It’s just some tightness, cramps, stuff that comes from playing.”

Whatever it is, Garrett said the Cowboys are better prepared to play without Lee than past years. They were 0-3 without Lee in 2015 and 2016 combined.

He credits the continued development of middle linebacker Jaylon Smith as well as the offseason additions of Vander Esch and Thomas. He said the Cowboys made a point to improve their depth knowing that a Lee absence was inevitable. He has never played a full 16 games in his career.

“I feel like Jaylon Smith has a year under his belt playing,” Garrett said. “He’s a year further away from his injury. He looks more comfortable physically. He looks more comfortable mentally. Adding a guy like Leighton Vander Esch, a high draft pick for us, giving him some opportunities. And I think the other guys have grown as well. You talk about Joe Thomas and Damien Wilson and some of the other guys who have played snaps for us. I feel good about that group right now.

“Obviously Sean’s the leader. He’s the leader of our defense. He’s a great, great football player. But depth is important on your team. The deeper you are, the more able you are to handle the adversities that come throughout a season.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 3:53 PM.