Dak Prescott left Houston on Sunday with a wrap around his throwing hand, a sight that would make any team nervous on a short week. The Dallas Cowboys have spent the days since learning it was a precaution.
Prescott explained it himself after the 34-30 win over the Texans. His hand was stepped on in the first half, on the play that drew an intentional grounding flag. “I knew I was getting sacked, I was in trouble,” he said after the game. “I thankfully got it away with no harm, and my hand just got stepped on after.” He said the wrap was only there to keep the hand from swelling.
Dak Prescott injury update
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
The wrap was off by Monday, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Tuesday that the hand is “great” and joked that the cleat may have caught one of his quarterback’s tattoos. Prescott has not appeared on the injury report this week.
Dallas had reason to be jumpy. Prescott fractured his right thumb against Tampa Bay in the 2022 opener and missed the next five games. The Buccaneers are Thursday’s opponent, and this version of the Cowboys runs through its quarterback. He ranks sixth among 33 qualified quarterbacks with an 86.3 PFF grade and has thrown eight touchdown passes in four games, and the offense is second in the NFL at 30.5 points per game.
The hand did not look like a problem in the second half, either. Prescott finished 32 of 45 for 335 yards, and the 11-play, 74-yard drive he capped with a 12-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb, who caught a career-high 17 passes, was the 27th game-winning drive of his career.
What is left is the short week. “We can’t sit here and have some winning hangover so early in the season,” Prescott said Sunday in Houston. The Texans sacked him three times, and All-Pro guard Tyler Smith could make his season debut after thumb surgery. The winless Buccaneers visit AT&T Stadium on Thursday night, and the Cowboys’ quarterback is one thing Dallas does not have to wonder about.
