As the Dallas Cowboys started up a drive with around 6:35 left the third quarter against the division rival New York Giants, Dak Prescott was scrambling away from a Giants cornerback and got tangled up, landing gruesomely on his right ankle. The entire field stood in shock and many in tears as Prescott was attended to and carted away. Dak himself was in tears waving goodbye to the world as he was sped off to testing. It was revealed later that this play caused Prescott to incur a compound fracture as well as a couple of other injuries to his ankle. Dak had surgery last night and it reportedly went well.
Prescott, 27, was drafted in the fourth round in 2016 and was putting together a historic 2020 season, amassing close to 2,000 passing yards, and throwing for 13 touchdowns, along with a sparkling pass completion percentage at 68 percent. Not counting yesterday’s game, Dak had amassed 450 or more yards in each game this season. Prescott is a two-time Pro Bowler, a rookie of the year, and ranks fourth behind only Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Drew Brees in quarterback wins since 2016.
Now with Prescott out, the Cowboys will see just how lucrative their $7 million deal with veteran Andy Dalton is. Dalton, 32, has taken his Cincinnati Bengals to the postseason four times so is no stranger to the spotlight. Dalton will now also have the opportunity to excel under some phenomenal weapons which Prescott was playing with phenomenally well. Rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has looked like a seasoned veteran in his short time around this league. Couple him with a motivated Amari Cooper and a breakout Michael Gallup, and you may have yourself the best receiving core in the NFL.
Dalton not only gets to inherit that, but he also earns Ezekiel Elliott and a decent offensive line which Cincinnati didn’t provide him over his last few seasons with the franchise. As we saw late in the fourth quarter, Dalton made some great scrambles from the pocket under pressure and connected with Gallup on not one, but two outstanding plays. Those plays should illustrate what the league can expect despite Prescott being missing in action for the rest of the 2020 season.
There was some chatter about whether Dak is the future for the Cowboys. If his dedication and emotion on the field didn’t show that, nothing will. Additionally, Dak was watching his team play on his phone as he was led from the ambulance into the hospital. That’s from the heart. He undoubtedly is the heart of this Dallas team.
https://twitter.com/DelayedTheGoat/status/1315498779462774785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This season Dak is playing under a $31.4 million tag after not coming to terms on an extension with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. The injury will give both parties more time to contemplate his value going forward next season and beyond.
Dak remains one of the classiest, talented, and most respected players in the league. The entire NFL family and its fans are sending their thoughts and prayers to Dak. He will be back on the field in 2021 more focused and determines than ever.
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