It will be an interesting week for the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback deliberations as they prepare for Sunday night’s high-profile NFC East matchup in Philadelphia against the unbeaten Eagles.
NFL Reset: Team rankings, Cowboys’ QBs, Dolphins’ issues, Watson’s return
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said during his weekly radio appearance Tuesday that Prescott has made “tremendous improvement” but must demonstrate in practice that he can grip the ball properly and throw it with his normal velocity and accuracy.
“He’s got to really spin the ball,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “… Can he zip the ball out there and make the throw? We’ll start working on that Wednesday real hard. … We know Dak Prescott can play. And we know he’ll be ready to play the minute he gets a chance to go in the game. Can he spin the ball? We’ll see.”
Rush has saved the Cowboys’ season, totaling four touchdown passes and no interceptions as Dallas (4-1) has beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams. But mostly, he has accomplished that by staying out of the way, avoiding mistakes and allowing the defense to win games. The Cowboys are seventh in the NFL in total defense and third in scoring defense; they’re 27th in total offense and tied for 24th in scoring offense.
In Sunday’s 22-10 triumph at SoFi Stadium, Dallas’s defense forced three turnovers, scored a touchdown on a return of a fumble recovery and sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford five times. Rush attempted only 16 passes and threw for a modest 102 yards. The Cowboys ran for 163 yards and went turnover-free.
“If you can run the ball and punt good and do not turn the ball over, you are a hard-to-beat team,” Jones said. “You are very hard to beat if you don’t make mistakes. … Even in today’s NFL, you’re hard to beat. I think that’s what we’re talking about. We have the skills to play like that. And, candidly, during this time when Dak has been absent, we’ve kind of played that way.”
That certainly is a winning formula on most weeks. But at some point, the Cowboys probably will have to rev up their offense to compete with the better teams. Prescott is a two-time Pro Bowl selection. He is in the midst of a four-year, $160 million contract. He led the way last season as the Cowboys had the league’s highest-scoring offense.
“Do we need that extra spurt and being able to make a game-winning play, one of the big plays over 20 yards?” Jones said. “Do we need that at quarterback? Yes, we do. Thank goodness we’re in a situation where we’re successful having really not had that dimension. When we get him back, that’ll be a real additive.”
So put aside Jones’s previous public musings that he would relish seeing Rush play well enough and win enough games to create a quarterback issue for the team. It is Prescott’s job and Prescott’s team, whenever he’s able to step back in. Coach Mike McCarthy has said that all along. Jones subsequently said Prescott is the Cowboys’ quarterback when he’s healthy.
But whether that means he’ll play this week remains to be seen. The stakes are relatively high — by mid-October standards. The Eagles are the NFL’s only unbeaten team. The Cowboys and Giants are 4-1. The sudden and unexpected revival of the NFC East will be under the “Sunday Night Football” spotlight.
“This has inspired us,” Jones said. “It certainly inspired me for these players to respond to adversity this way. I think you’ll see our quarterbacks, certainly Dak … responding to this team playing, getting together in a rough time, bonding together, handling from within and becoming a better team because of it.”
Top five teams
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They were fortunate in Arizona, as the Cardinals managed the clock poorly and missed a FG. There undoubtedly will be a big-game atmosphere Sunday night in Philadelphia with the Cowboys in town. |
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Josh Allen had a huge game in the first half alone against the Steelers, and the Bills coasted from there. So much for needing to win close games. This was far easier. |
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Travis Kelce came up big, and the Chiefs overcame a 17-0 deficit — not to mention a debatable roughing-the-passer call — to beat the Raiders on Monday night. |
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4. Vikings |
The defense made the big play late to seal a win over the Bears. Opponents would be wise to make someone other than wide receiver Justin Jefferson beat them. |
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5. Buccaneers |
Thou shalt not tackle Tom Brady. |
Dolphins’ QB situation
The Miami Dolphins have two quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater, being evaluated and treated under the league’s concussion protocols.
Bridgewater was ruled out of Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., under the new provision to the protocols that the NFL and the NFL Players Association enacted Saturday as they completed their joint review of the Tagovailoa case.
Under that change, the league and union added ataxia — which they defined as “abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue” — to the list of mandatory “no-go” symptoms under the protocols. So when a spotter assigned to Sunday’s game said Bridgewater stumbled after being hit and apparently striking his head on the turf, the quarterback was ineligible to reenter the game and automatically was treated under the protocols as if he had a concussion.
Bridgewater remains under the protocols this week, so he must be cleared under the step-by-step evaluation process to be allowed to play in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in Miami Gardens, Fla. Coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that Bridgewater did not have any concussion symptoms to that point.
According to McDaniel, Tagovailoa is being reevaluated every 12 to 24 hours. The Dolphins have not said when Tagovailoa is expected to be able to play.
Rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson finished the defeat to the Jets and presumably would start Sunday if neither Tagovailoa nor Bridgewater is cleared to play.
Bottom five teams
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28. Broncos |
The rush for the exits by the fans as overtime began Thursday night was quite the statement about the level of confidence in Coach Nathaniel Hackett and QB Russell Wilson. |
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29. Raiders |
With the game — and perhaps their season — on the line Monday, two Raiders wide receivers collided on their final failed fourth-down play. And what was wrong with kicking an extra point to tie the score with 4 1/2 minutes left? |
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The Lions finally put together a complete performance Sunday against New England — a completely bad performance. Even the previously productive offense was dreadful. |
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31. Commanders |
Carson Wentz hasn’t been good. But anyone who expected him to be a franchise QB in Washington wasn’t paying attention the past few years. And it’s certainly not all on him. |
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32. Panthers |
The good news for Steve Wilks is he’s getting another head coaching chance. The bad news is … well, look around. |
Watson rejoins Browns
Quarterback Deshaun Watson returned to the Cleveland Browns’ facility Monday. That was the first day he was eligible to rejoin the team under the terms of his 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Watson may resume practicing Nov. 14. He is eligible to play in a game Dec. 4 when the Browns are in Houston to face the Texans, Watson’s former team.
The NFL could delay Watson’s reinstatement if he does not comply with the terms of his suspension, multiple people familiar with the situation said when the league and the NFLPA reached the settlement by which Watson was suspended and fined $5 million based on allegations of sexual misconduct. The settlement required Watson to undergo a professional evaluation and treatment plan. There is no indication at this point that Watson has failed to comply.
Watson’s suspension officially took effect Aug. 30.
The Browns are doing their best to be relevant on the field when Watson can join the lineup. They’re 2-3 with Jacoby Brissett filling in, and they’re on a two-game losing streak entering Sunday’s game at home against the New England Patriots.
Source: WP
