DeMarcus Lawrence surprisingly revealed Thursday that he expects to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but he has injuries to both feet and his right knee. The Cowboys starting left defensive end then added that he thinks there could be a fracture where he had foot surgery last year.

“It’s all about trying to maintain what I have,” Lawrence said, “but also taking care of me throughout the week so I can be fresh (on Sunday).”

Lawrence missed 10 games last season because of a foot injury.

DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) working on resistance cords during today’s practice. He’s still expected to play Sunday pic.twitter.com/aeqdRYQ01t

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 17, 2022

“We got a good report,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “It’s certainly something we’ll be monitoring, but that will be it. He can play. It’s not grabbing in a way that restricts his ability to really push off. I surely don’t see it as an issue (for this Sunday).”

Lawrence, who is second on the team in sacks (5), tackles for loss (7) and QB hits (7), did not practice Wednesday and Thursday but was limited on Friday. He is listed as questionable for the game.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is also listed as questionable and also expected to play Sunday. Elliott has missed the last two games with a sprained right knee. He has been wearing a knee brace in practice and plans on doing the same during games.

“I’m definitely very optimistic about this week,” Elliott said Thursday. “Barring any setbacks the next couple of days, I feel good. I feel as good as I’ve felt since the injury this early in the week. I think I’m in a good spot.”

How important would it be to get Elliott back?

“When I think of Zeke, I think of the identity of our football team kind of wrapped into a player,” right guard Zack Martin said. “Just his willingness to do anything asked of him, his physical style of play. He brings all of that to our team. And it rubs off on guys.”

Cornerback Anthony Brown (concussion) and LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) are both also listed as questionable. Brown was a full participant in practice Friday. Barr was limited. There’s a good chance both will play.

Here are some other notebook items gathered over the last few days at The Star.

Cowboys QB. Sunday will be Dak Prescott’s fourth consecutive start since returning from a fractured right thumb. He completed less than 60 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating of 78.6 last Sunday in Green Bay. His two second-quarter interceptions were immediately answered by Packers touchdown drives. Dallas rallied to tie the game at halftime and take a 28-14 lead into the third quarter, before falling 31-28 in overtime.

There wasn’t enough space between WR CeeDee Lamb and TE Dalton Schultz in the end zone on the first interception, a pass Prescott probably should have thrown away. The second one occurred because of miscommunication between Prescott and Lamb, who should have crossed in front of the safety rather than behind. The two connected on a similar play in overtime.

“I believe in my arm and I believe in those guys to go make those plays,” Prescott said. “It’s just about being on the same page. That’s what we hammered on the sideline and we’ve nailed it and it’s behind us and we’ve grown from it. If those looks come up again, I’m going to throw the ball again and guarantee there’s a different result.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was asked this week if Prescott has been a little more erratic than in the past.

“I mean, no,” McCarthy responded. “I see him every day. Dak Prescott is, I think his best days are ahead of him. I’m excited to work with him every day and what he brings to the table. He’s our quarterback. I get the evaluation that we have to go through, but I have zero concerns for him.”

Fixing the defense. A group that has at times looked like one of the best in the league was below average last Sunday. Stopping the run was a significant issue for a second consecutive week. Players spoke this week about being more accountable and focused on executing their assignments in the run game, not getting out of their gaps to try to make a play somewhere else.

The Packers rushed for 207 yards, the third time Green Bay has rushed for more than 200 yards in a game this season. The other two were against the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills. The week before Dallas’ bye, the Bears rushed for 240 yards in a 49-29 loss to the Cowboys. Chicago has rushed for more than 200 yards in each of their last five games.

“It’s definitely something that can be fixed quickly,” linebacker Leighton Vander Esch said. “It just comes down to everybody doing their job and staying in their gaps. We can stop the run. We’ve done it before, so we just have to go do it. Everybody get in their gaps and everybody do their job and pursue the ball.”

Micah Parsons said if the defense is in a similar spot this Sunday with a 14-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the result will be different.

“I mean, sh-, it won’t happen again,” Parsons said. “If Dak goes out there and gives me that lead again, I promise we ain’t going to do that again. Whether it’s got to come from me, whether it’s got to come from (Jayron Kearse) or any other leader on this defense, (Lawrence), we gotta anchor in on that and make sure that never happens again.”

Cowboys LB/DE Micah Parsons: “Whether I have 3 sacks, zero sacks, no tackles, 20 tackles, all I want to do is win. … I want to be around people who want to win as bad as I do.” pic.twitter.com/sdKKghzUhu

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 17, 2022

Kearse had the most notable response from a defender this week while talking about players being angry with how they played at Green Bay.

“You should be angry,” he said. “You should be frustrated. If you’re not, then I think we got the wrong guys on this defense, if you’re walking around like everything is fine. Knowing how things went for us last year against San Francisco, being a big reason on why we didn’t advance in the postseason last year. If you’re not frustrated, then we got the wrong guys on this defense. If you’re not mad, we got the wrong guys on this defense.

“It’s all about having a sense of urgency moving forward. We’re 6-3, the sky is not falling, but if you don’t have a sense of urgency moving forward with how last week went, the week before, the bye went, then you need to gut check yourself and look in the mirror. … You can walk around here and look pissed and whatever, we’ll see on Sunday.”

Ref talk. The officiating, particularly late in the game Sunday, frustrated McCarthy. It was clear in his postgame news conference. While that could come off as blaming the officials for a game the Cowboys had no business losing, McCarthy clarified Friday that the officials were not the reason for Dallas falling in overtime.

“We can’t control the officials,” McCarthy said during his weekly interview on The Fan. “Never have tried to. We go through every penalty and just really use it as a learning experience. There’s education and prevention techniques that you continue to try to emphasize. I have to do a better job here. This is something that’s really the focus. But I’m not going to lie to you, you get up there on the podium after the game and those emotions are still fresh. But we’ve never lost a game because of the officiating. I think you have to train that way. They’re just excuses.”

Which wild card round opponent would be the most difficult for the Cowboys?

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 15, 2022

Latest on OBJ. During the Thursday night broadcast of Titans vs. Packers on Amazon, Rams CB Jalen Ramsey was asked about Odell Beckham Jr., his former teammate and most-coveted NFL free agent.

“We definitely want him back,” Ramsey said on “The Shop” broadcast, according to the Rams Wire. “I talk to him every week.”

Where does he think Beckham will end up?

“If I was a betting man,” Ramsey said, “I would say he’s gonna go back to New York, or to the Cowboys. If I was a betting man right now.”

The Cowboys remain very interested in Beckham’s services but are waiting for him to be fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the Super Bowl.

“Don’t have any updates,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Friday afternoon on The Fan. “He’s coming off an injury. He’s working to get himself back to where he feels like he’s ready to play. Certainly, we’re keeping an eye on that.”

The Cowboys never had interest in signing veteran DT Ndamukong Suh, who signed with the Eagles on Thursday.

“No, we didn’t have contact,” Jerry Jones said on The Fan. “I like where we are with our big boys in the middle.”

One other note. According to Fox Sports PR, there were 29.2 million viewers for Cowboys at Packers last Sunday on Fox, making it the most-watched NFL game of the season on any network.

(Photo of DeMarcus Lawrence: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)