By his standards, Dak Prescott had a very poor first half against the Houston Texans. The pass rush, while kept at bay, affected his process. He wasn't seeing the field well and took a couple of sacks that could have been avoided had he climbed the pocket.
Then, the second half happened, and Prescott reminded everyone why he's one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. Despite taking a relative beating, Prescott hung 28 points on Houston's vaunted defense, including the game-winning touchdown to CeeDee Lamb with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
In his postgame availability, Prescott's throwing hand was noticeably wrapped. However, he quickly put any concern to rest.
According to The Athletic's Jon Machota, Prescott received a cut on the back of his throwing hand after getting stepped on. The bandage is precautionary to suppress any swelling.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's hand got stepped on vs Texans, wrap is to prevent swelling
It's impossible to know how much force Prescott's hand absorbed. Did he take a direct step, or was he able to brace himself and lessen the impact? Either way, the Cowboys are lucky he avoided a serious injury.
There was no reason to think much of it in real time since Dak's play got stronger as the game progressed, but seeing his hand wrapped after the game changes the calculus. The real test will be how his hand responds in the coming hours and days.
If it's simply a matter of containing the swelling, there shouldn't be much cause for concern. Regardless, this is something to monitor with the Cowboys facing a quick turnaround this week. They host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, giving Prescott two fewer days than usual to recover.
Prescott was sacked thrice and hit a total of 12 times. If not for his A-1 footwork and awareness, Houston could have gotten home a couple more times. In other words, his right hand endured plenty of opportunities to get banged up over the course of the game.
Cowboys fans will remember Prescott's fluke thumb injury against Tampa Bay in Week 1 of the 2022 season. His throwing hand slammed into the helmet of a Bucs defender on a pass attempt, causing a fracture that ultimately required surgery and knocked him out for five weeks.
Dak Prescott put Dallas on his back despite hand injury
The fact that Prescott played at such a high level in the second half is a great sign. Two totally different injuries, of course, but he was immediately knocked out of that Buccaneers game. He didn't miss a snap on Sunday and proceeded to put the Cowboys on his back.
After putting six points in the first half and struggling to complete anything beyond 10 yards, Prescott finished 32-of-45 (71.1 percent) for 335 yards and one touchdown. He's credited with a 99.8 passer rating and an 89.0 QBR.
Pretty remarkable given the reputation of Houston's defense and how anemic Dallas' offense looked in the opening 30 minutes.
Prescott may be limited in practice this week, but there's currently nothing to suggest he's in danger of missing Thursday night's game. The Buccaneers fell to 0-4 with their loss to the Packers, giving the Cowboys a golden opportunity to climb above .500 for the first time this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google