Predicting Dak Prescott’s statline in Week 7 return Cowboys vs. Lions

The Dallas Cowboys started off the year in about the worst way imaginable. Going into Week 1, the team learned that future Hall of Fame tackle Tyron Smith would miss significant time due to injury.

The team looked about as ugly as ever in a miserable 19-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener. The offense only managed to gain 244 yards on the day and was unable to find the endzone a single time.

Although the team looked very unimpressive, that was hardly the worst part. Star quarterback Dak Prescott broke his thumb in the matchup. This would lead to Cooper Rush being the starter for the next five weeks. All hope was lost for America’s Team, and everyone was expecting a lost year from the very start.

Rush, however, had other plans. Immediately after the Week 1 loss, the backup quarterback peeled off four straight wins, two against divisional opponents in the Washington Commanders and the New York Giants, and two against last season’s Super Bowl participants, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Unfortunately, the success hit a bump in the road this past Sunday night when the team went on the road to Philadelphia to face the undefeated Eagles. After going down 20-3 at halftime, the team clawed its way back to make it 20-17 before the Eagle offense put the game out of reach late.

After six weeks, the time has finally come for a 4-2 team with playoff aspirations to regain the services of a top-10 quarterback. This should be a huge boost for an offense that has averaged just 21.4 points per game in his absence.

Predicting Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s statline in his return against the Detroit Lions

This honestly could be the best possible game for Prescott to make his return. Rather than return early and play uncomfortably in a huge game against a division rival, he takes his time to come back fully healed and has a game with much less pressure against the Detroit Lions.

I will never write off a team, however, the Lions do not look good right now. They managed to put up zero points against the New England Patriots last week. Prior to that game, they averaged the most points per game in the NFL, and they still stand in the top 3 with 28 points per game.

Despite having one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league, they have been horrid defensively this season, allowing 34 points per game, almost seven points more than the next team (Chicago Bears).

They are also one of the worst teams against the pass, allowing 7.7 yards per attempt, which ranked fourth-highest in the NFL. They struggle to get to the quarterback, having the least sacks in the league as well. While this was a given, based on how bad their defense is, they also cannot stop the run, allowing 5.5 yards per carry, the third-highest in the NFL.

With all these things considered, I do not expect Prescott to have some 400+ yard, five-touchdown performance, although it would certainly be welcomed. More than likely, the defense will do enough of a job to allow the offense to work the run game primarily.

QB1 should still work to gain confidence and his groove back in this game, so he should still have around 25 pass attempts this game, assuming it doesn’t get out of reach early and barring injury (knock on wood).

With all these things in mind, I expect No. 4 to have a very efficient day. The Lions’ defense is not particularly good at forcing turnovers and they are not good at forcing pressure. Prescott should have a clean pocket most of the day and should be a warm welcome back from a five-week absence.

All in all, this is a great opportunity for Dak to ease back into things. It will give him a chance to test the waters against an incredibly weak defense, which should hopefully help him gain confidence moving forward into Week 8 and beyond.

Dak Prescott’s statline prediction vs. Lions: 21/24, 249 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 2 rushes, 12 rushing yards

4 bold predictions for the Cowboys vs. Lions Week 7 NFC battle

I may have gone 0-4 last week, but it's time for another set of bold predictions. Here's how things will go in Week 7 Cowboys vs. Lions.