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ARLINGTON, Texas --  While the Dallas Cowboys have had a few critical starters go down with season-ending injuries in 2023 -- Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs (torn ACL) plus linebackers Leighton Vander Esch (neck) and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (torn ACL) -- they are as healthy as they could be minus those players entering their Super Wild Card Weekend showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who suffered a separated shoulder in Dallas' Week 18 win at the Washington Commanders, is active. He will be playing with a harness, but after saying earlier in the week that he was "confident" he would play, Gilmore stayed true to his word. He practiced in a limited fashion on Thursday and Friday. His presence is crucial to the Cowboys' efforts in slowing down Packers quarterback Jordan Love, whose 32 touchdowns in the regular season are second only to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's 36. That makes Sunday's contest the first-ever wild card game between the top-two outright league leaders in passing touchdowns.   

Dallas' 2023 Second-Team All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith, who tore his plantar fascia in his foot in the Cowboys' 20-19 Week 17 win against the Detroit Lions, also returns to action after missing Week 18. He was told completely tearing it was better than a partial, nagging tear. Smith practiced as a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday before fully participating on Friday. 

"When doc was like, 'This (fully tearing his plantar fascia) is a good thing,' I was kind of looking at him like question mark, what does that mean?" Smith said Thursday. "He had kind of explained to me the science. I'm not a doctor, guys, so just bear with me on that. I'm just glad it was the best-case scenario, considering what happened... You don't want to favor anything. You want to play free. You want to play within your full range of capability. So, I think that's my biggest thing."

Joining Gilmore and Smith in playing free is defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who like Smith was limited on Wednesday and Thursday before fully practicing Friday. Hankins has been dealing with an ankle issue that caused him to miss Weeks 15-17. He predominantly only played in the first half against Washington, but he said earlier this week he expects a regular amount of snaps, critical in slowing down Packers running back Aaron Jones, who has run for for 100 yards in each of the last three games. 

On the Packers side, running back AJ Dillion (thumb/neck) is inactive. Green Bay gets wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) back after missing the Packers' last fie regular season games with a hamstring injury. He went off for three receiving touchdowns and 107 receiving yards in the Packers' 31-28 overtime win against the Cowboys in Green Bay in Week 10 of the 2022 season. Packers Pro Bowl corner Jaire Alexander is also active after suffering an ankle injury in practice this week. He didn't practice on Thursday or Friday.