Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will do whatever it takes to play against Redskins
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is going to do what is necessary to play against the Washington Redskins on Sunday despite a sprained right shoulder, just as he did before last week’s 17-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prescott didn’t practice all last week. And he only threw meaningful passes during pregame warm-ups.
Did he take a pain-killing injection before the game and again at halftime?
“I did what was necessary,” Prescott said Wednesday.
And Prescott is going to do what is necessary to be on the field for the season finale against the Redskins with the Cowboys (7-8) still holding on to slim playoff hopes.
A Cowboys win and loss by the Eagles (8-7) to the New York Giants would guarantee Prescott a second straight division title and third in four years as Cowboys quarterback.
“It’s about focusing on getting this win, simple as that,” Prescott said. “As I said, if we’re fortunate and we look up and we get the win, we’ll be ready to go and we’ll make the most of it. But as of right now we can’t focus on anything but the Redskins.”
Coach Jason Garrett said the team would have the same approach this week as last week.
“Last week, we really took it day by day, and this week we’ll do the same thing,” Garrett said. “Obviously, he was able to play in the ballgame. Hopefully, we can get him on the same path where he’s able to go on Sunday.”
The biggest difference for Prescott this week is that he has gone through the walk-through practices, unlike last week when backup Cooper Rush handled the first team offense in the walk-throughs and team drills.
So that is a sign of improvement.
“I’ve been able to go through the walk-through and do that for the most part,” Prescott said Thursday. “I’ve really taken steps, everything but just pushing the ball down the field for the most part. That’s just kind of part of it. You’ve got to rest it for it to get better, and it will.”
Prescott admittedly didn’t play well against the Eagles following the limited work in practice, as he completed 25 of 44 for 265 yards. The Cowboys failed to score a touchdown in the game.
He was rusty and off target.
But there is not much Prescott or the Cowboys could do, considering the situation.
“Not anything necessarily I could say that ‘I could do this better’ to make sure I play better on Sunday,” Prescott said. “Just got to keep preparing the right way mentally and going out there and making the plays.
“I know I was there mentally — just didn’t make all the throws, didn’t make all the plays that I wanted to make. But that’s just something you’ve got to move forward, try to get better at and hope you make them this Sunday.”
Said Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore: “You know certainly you’d love to practice all week. There’s obviously value to it, and there’s a reason you practice day after day. So certainly he would have loved to, but I don’t think that was the deciding factor in anything in that deal. I think we just didn’t play as well as we had hoped.”
