The Dallas Cowboys’ nightmarish season took another downturn on Sunday with Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury. How long will the Cowboys be without their QB1?
What Is Dak Prescott’s Injury?
Dak Prescott entered the medical tent along the Cowboys’ sideline at the start of the fourth quarter. Dallas subsequently announced that he was questionable to return with a hamstring injury, but Prescott never re-entered Sunday’s game.
Prescott underwent an MRI on his hamstring on Monday, and the news was not positive. He was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday after Week 9.
From @GMFB: #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is headed to IR. pic.twitter.com/ahODagAB5L
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2024
After Sunday’s game, Prescott said he thought he hurt his hamstring on a third-quarter scramble attempt.
“Yeah, we gotta get it looked at,” Prescott said. “Felt it on the little scramble to the left. Felt it didn’t think much. Then on the next play, throwing that the stop route to the field, pulled something, I felt something I never felt. It was tough to walk on it at that point.”
“I saw the medical team and asked, ‘Could I make it worse?’ At that point, they said I wouldn’t be able to protect myself and made the call to hold me out.”
When Will Prescott Return From Injury?
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport initially reported that Prescott’s absence was “not looking like a short-term issue.” Rapoport added that Prescott will receive a second opinion on his injury. But the NFL Network reporter reiterated that he is expected to be sidelined for multiple weeks, if not longer.
We likely won’t know how much time Prescott will miss until closer to the end of his IR stint. However, at least one estimate suggests he may need more than the minimum time.
IR for #DakPrescott
Would expect him out for 6 weeks https://t.co/o6LNMpoFNq— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) November 5, 2024
Prescott must miss at least four games. That makes him eligible to return for Dallas’ Week 14 Monday night game versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
How Will Prescott’s Injury Impact the Cowboys?
Prescott wasn’t having a spectacular season. His -0.09 EPA per play was a career-low, and he ranked only 25th in PFN’s QB+ metric (which blends a variety of situational EPA and success rate metrics).
That said, he’s undeniably one of Dallas’ most important players, and this is likely the final nail for any hopes the Cowboys had of playoff contention in 2024.
Cooper Rush is the expected starter. Rush notably filled in for Prescott when the Cowboys’ starter broke his thumb in 2022 and won in four of his five starts. He’s only thrown 63 passes over the last two years since, but it was a promising stint (albeit with a more talented supporting cast).
SEE MORE: NFL Injury Report
Pro Football Network ranked Rush as the NFL’s 15th-best backup quarterback. After Prescott exited Sunday’s game against the Falcons with his hamstring injury, Rush completed 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He’s a free agent after this season, so another impressive interim stint could result in a larger opportunity elsewhere.
The Cowboys were already having a rough season on offense, ranking 20th in points per game and 23rd in EPA per play. Dallas could be even further depleted if wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is unable to go with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, though his injury sounds less severe.
With the expected length of Prescott’s absence, it’s feasible that the Cowboys could either be practically or mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the time he’s healthy again. With that in mind, it’s fair to wonder if we’ve seen the last of Dak in 2024.