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The Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 after Week 2, and they may be getting back starting quarterback Dak Prescott from his injury sooner than expected.
After Prescott fractured his thumb in the Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, things were looking grim for the Cowboys. Dallas had not looked impressive against Tampa in any aspect, and Prescott was facing a potential injury reserve stint.
Now, things are looking up. Dallas beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17 for their first win of 2022, and Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones revealed before the game that Prescott’s timetable continues to trend in the right direction.
“He’s got a chance, maybe the third or fourth game,” Jones initially said to 105.3 The Fan during a pregame chat, per the New York Post. “We’ll see what happens.”
Jones then edited his comments the next day on September 19, saying that Prescott will definitely miss the “third game” against the New York Giants on Sept. 26 and that Dallas is hoping for the Week 4 or 5 matchups for a return.
“I think the very best (return date) would be Washington (Week 4) or the Rams (Week 5). So far everything has gone his way, from the surgery to the swelling after the surgery was very minimal compared to what it can be,” Jones said, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
It’s nothing set in stone, but it is certainly a positive update for Cowboys fans after some of the early reports stated that Prescott could have had a recovery time of 6-8 weeks. However, Dallas may not feel rushed to get their starting quarterback back on the field after an encouraging performance from backup QB Cooper Rush.
Cooper Rush Leads Cowboys to Win
Getting the starting nod for the second time in his NFL career, Rush had a major task: defeat the Bengals, who were agonizingly close to a Super Bowl title back in February and hungry to rebound from a Week 1 loss.
Rush was ready for the challenge, completing 19 of 31 passes for 235 passing yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys QB finished with a rating of 95.5 and was kept fairly clean by the offensive line, who allowed just one sack.
A huge part of that was the opening drive, which saw Rush complete 4 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown toss to Noah Brown. Taking an early lead on the back of Rush’s clean performance set the tone for Dallas, and kickstarted the team’s momentum on the way to a 17-3 halftime lead.
Cincinnati did engineer a second-half comeback and the Cowboys’ offense did slow down considerably, but Dallas can at least rest easy knowing they can generate points in the 2022 offense with Rush at quarterback.
Jerry Jones Speaks on Dak, Rush and Dallas
Heavy’s Jonathan Adams recently covered Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ initial reaction to the Week 2 win, which featured new info on how Dallas is approaching Prescott’s recovery.
According to USA Today reporter Jori Epstein, Rush’s performance has no bearing on the plan with Dak: if Prescott is ready to play again, he will play.
“Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s return from thumb surgery will hinge on his ability to grip the ball. But Cooper Rush’s performance today buoys Jerry Jones. ‘He exceeded my expectations,’ Jerry told us. ‘The performance out here by Rush sure takes a lot of angst out of it,'” Epstein Tweeted on September 18.
Rush putting together a solid performance in a critical game has definitely raised his stock in the fanbase and organization, but Prescott is still the starter for both skill and financial reasons. Rush has a great chance to continue proving himself, but Dallas has invested money and planning into an offense built around Dak.
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