‘I’m here to protect my quarterback.’ Dallas Cowboys defend Dak Prescott after hit.
A year ago, Andy Dalton was knocked out of the game against Washington with a concussion and his Dallas Cowboys did nothing.
In the Cowboys’ 27-20 win Sunday, with quarterback Dak Prescott on the field, that wasn’t happening again.
With the Cowboys up 27-8 with about 10:30 left in the game, La’el Collins was ejected after he and Ezekiel Elliott confronted Washington defensive end James Smith-Williams for shoving Prescott out of bounds. To be sure, Smith-Williams’ shove was not flagrant as he and Prescott were running at full speed toward the sideline when the hit occurred. Still, Prescott took a hard fall as he rolled into the Cowboys’ players on the sideline.
Elliott immediately got in Smith-Williams’ grill, soon followed by Collins, who threw a punch, which drew the ejection.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who publicly voiced his displeasure with the lack of reaction to the hit against Dalton a year ago, was happy with Sunday’s response.
“I think LC did exactly what you’re supposed to do there,” he said. McCarthy, however, returned a moment later to the postgame interview room to clarify that he didn’t realize Collins had thrown a punch and that he did not approve of it.
Still, McCarthy might have privately given Collins a bear hug in the Cowboys’ locker room.
The Cowboys (9-4) play the New York Giants (4-9) at noon Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
“It’s a brotherhood. We fight for ours. We all love each other,” Elliott said. “You see someone take a shot at our guys, we have to make sure … “
Collins said he wasn’t annoyed that Smith-Williams’ hit was too late, but that he was worried about Prescott’s legs getting rolled up on.
Collins was out with an injury a year ago when Dalton took the shot and none of his teammates stepped up.
“I was at home, in my bed when I saw that play. It just irked me. It made me feel some kind of way,” Collins said. “You don’t take cheap shots on guys. We don’t play that type of game. We just line it up and go out there and play ball. We don’t play dirty, we don’t do none of that. At the end of the day, we’re not going to take no bull----.”
As for the hit on Prescott, Collins thought it was unnecessary and put his quarterback in danger.
“I felt like he was rolling towards Dak’s leg,” Collins said. “It was uncalled for. I’m just here to protect my quarterback at all costs, and that’s the bottom line.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2021 at 6:33 PM.
