Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Sends Message on Thumb Injury After Win

Getty Images Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys.

Dak Prescott made his long-awaited return for the Dallas Cowboys but was clear he didn’t want to overplay his hand in the 24-6 victory against the Detroit Lions.

Prescott threw for 207 yards and a touchdown in his first action since Week 1 and while a little rust was visible, he felt good and his surgically repaired thumb did not cause him any issues.

“I felt great,” Prescott said after the win. “Thumb wasn’t bothering me. … This is about the team. This was a great team win.”

With a stellar defense and special teams group capable of providing a spark, Prescott wasn’t worried about his stat line. He’s just happy to do his part with the Cowboys rolling.

“A win’s a win,” Prescott said. “I really don’t care how it gets done, a win’s a win. I thought it was going to be pretty cool to leave this game without a touchdown, honestly. That’s kind of where my head is right now. I know how talented this team is. I know what we can be. It’s not about me. It’s about all of us, and I’m just trying to make sure I play my part and make sure I put this team in the right situation each and every play.”

Prescott Looking to Avoid ‘Overconfidence’

After five starts with Cooper Rush under center, Prescott is back. But it’s going to take some time for him to get back to the player who passed for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.

“Some of those throws were just overconfidence in a sense,” Prescott said. “Yeah, I’ve got to guard against that because sometimes those can lead to turnovers, and the last thing I’m trying to do is put this team in a bad position because I’m overconfident.”

For his pass-catchers, it felt like a return to normalcy having Prescott back. CeeDee Lamb led the Cowboys with four catches for 70 yards, Noah Brown hauled in five catches for 50 yards, while tight end Dalton Schultz caught five balls for 49 yards.

“From my aspect, he was back to normal,” Schultz said. “It was nice having him back out there. I know everybody says it, but you can’t underestimate the amount of leadership that guy has. The command he has in the huddle, it was just great to feel the normalcy back in our offense. Coop did a helluva job. But having Dak back is huge for us. It felt like it’s back to normal.”

Ezekiel Elliott Shakes Off Hard Hit to Knee

The Cowboys avoided another significant injury when Ezekiel Elliott took a shot on his right knee. Despite how it looked, Elliott was able to shake it off and accounted for a pair of touchdowns in the matchup.

“He’s relentless,” Prescott said of Elliott. “When I saw the play, I thought it was a little ugly. He said he’d be good and wasn’t too long before he was jumping a guy.”

The Cowboys rushed for 139 yards as a team, led by Tony Pollard who had 83 yards on 12 carries — a 6.9 average. Elliott was happy with the commitment to the run from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

“The big fellas, they wanted to run it down there,” Elliott said. “I’m happy Kellen called the runs down there. The O-Line, they were asking for it. So, you got to give the bigs what they want.”

The Cowboys have a chance to move to 6-2 next week against the Chicago Bears.