The Week 2 victory over the New York Giants came at a significant cost to the Dallas Cowboys. Second-year center Cooper Beebe picked up an ankle/foot injury that is expected to keep him sidelined from six to eight weeks. He’s been placed on injured reserve with a designation to return. That means he’ll miss at least the next four games and will be replaced by Brock Hoffman for the foreseeable future.

Playing as an injury fill-in is nothing new for Brock Hoffman. He stepped in for future Hall of Famer Zack Martin last season when he finally shut it down for the year and ended up playing admirably. While Hoffman has primarily filled in at guard as a reserve, he does have experience playing center as well. Hopefully, he does as well filling in for Cooper Beebe as he did for Zack Martin last year.

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The sad truth is, at least right now, the Cowboys can’t afford to have any glaring weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. Until their defense can prove they can hold their own and not let their opponents score at will like the Giants did last week, Dak Prescott and Company will need to put as many points on the board as possible. Brock Hoffman is now a key element for that happening.

Through the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, Dak Prescott is playing like he did back in 2023 when he was the runner-up MVP to Lamar Jackson. He’s playing some of his best the ball right now, but that won’t continue if he doesn’t have a clean pocket to throw from. Beebe was doing an excellent job keeping the pocket from collapsing and now Brock Hoffman will have to do the same.

The Cowboys have also been able to surprisingly run the ball well so far this season. Javonte Williams is a Top 10 running back in nearly every category right now and will be facing a Bears defense who is currently allowing 148.5 rushing yards per game. He could have a big day for himself Sunday afternoon, but again that could depend on how well Hoffman fills in at center.

While it’s true the Cowboys have several other areas of concern, especially the defensive side of the ball, it’s also true they really need Hoffman to not be a liability in the middle of their offensive line. He is playing next to three former first-round draft picks which should help, but he still has to be able to hold his own. He says he’s up for the challenge, but only time will tell if that’s true or not.