The Dallas Cowboys had a close call with the Houston Texans in Week 14, as they trailed for the majority of the game. But, in their final drive of the game, the Cowboys went 98 yards to score the go-ahead touchdown, winning their fourth consecutive game and dropping the Texans to a record of 1-11-1.

While picking up the win was certainly big, it didn’t come without a cost. Dallas suffered some significant injuries in the trenches on both sides of the ball that will test their depth in the coming weeks.

On the defensive side of the ball, interior lineman Jonathan Hankins is going to miss multiple weeks of action. While making his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan, owner Jerry Jones revealed that Hankins suffered a pectoral strain against the Texans and would need about a month of recovery time.

“You can see Johnathan back for the playoffs. He won’t be back before then,” Jones said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

Hankins was acquired by the Cowboys earlier this season in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, along with a 2024 seventh-round pick, in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick. He quickly became an important part of their rotation at the defensive tackle spot, starting the last three games that he appeared in.

The 2013 second-round pick out of Ohio State has been a stout run defender throughout his career, providing some space-eating in the middle of the defense. He was only a part-time player for Dallas, but his presence will be missed.

There is optimism that Hankins will be able to return to the field once the playoff rolls around. Right now, the Cowboys are destined to play on Wild Card Weekend, which would mean playing on January 15th, 16th or 17th, giving Hankins a full four weeks of healing before ramping things up in practice leading into the playoffs.

On the season between the Raiders and Cowboys, Hankins has 20 combined tackles to go with one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit and one pass defended.