Dak Prescott is currently on the mend after suffering a calf strain on the final play of the game against the New England Patriots, when he rolled to his right to deliver the walk-off touchdown to CeeDee Lamb to give the Dallas Cowboys their gutsiest win of the 2021 season, sending them to 5-1 as well. The two-time Pro Bowler took the podium for his post-game press conference in a walking boot that was deemed precautionary, and was in great spirits as he declared there was nothing to worry about — particularly with the Cowboys entering a timely bye week and not playing another game until they face the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 31.
An MRI done on Monday showed the strain isn’t severe enough to cost Prescott any time going forward, sources tell CBS Sports, and the current medicine is lots of rest during the two weeks off, along with some rehab work to begin in a few days. Team owner Jerry Jones provided the latest update on Friday, and he’s anything but concerned about Prescott’s status for Week 8.
“Big ole thumbs up,” said Jones of Prescott. “… I feel good about his status.”
As mentioned, Prescott himself was jovial about it all — poking some fun at media about the walking boot.
“I figured when we weren’t playing for a week, so I would give you guys something to talk about and speculate on this time,” said Prescott, playfully. “So there you go. … Yeah the last throw, just came down funny. That’s what it was. It will be checked out.
“I’ll be fine, I can promise you that. Great time to be going into the bye week. As I said, you all can have fun with it this week.”
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The fact he remained on the field to celebrate and for a post-game interview provides further evidence that Prescott and the Cowboys didn’t view the strain as severe, or he would’ve been quickly ushered back for tests, as opposed to letting him go through all of the usual post-game rituals before giving him an MRI the following day. And, for his part, Prescott made it clear that if he needed to continue playing, should the pass to Lamb not ended the game, he could’ve and would’ve.
“It was a little pain, but, no, for sure I would’ve been able to keep going,” he said. “Obviously, the adrenaline would’ve been up and may not have even felt it at the time. I think the time you relax you’re like, ‘Oh, there it is.’ … But as I said, it was something we’ll check out and I could have kept playing if I had to, and I’ll be fine.”
Prescott returned to the field in 2021 after suffering a devastating ankle injury that ended his season last October, and also overcame a strained shoulder to not only take the field in the Cowboys opener against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but to also dominate in what became a narrow two-point loss due to missed kicks and critical drops by some of his targets. He’s been operating at an MVP-caliber pace through the first six games, and his 445 passing yards on Sunday was the most allowed by any Patriots team associated with Bill Belichick.
It seems like the more adversity Prescott faces, the better he becomes, and the calf strain is just another hurdle for him to leap.
“Life keeps throwing punches, and I’m going to keep throwing them back,” he said. “Yeah, it’s part of it. It’s a physical game. As I said, I’ll be fine. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself and the medical team, and as I said I feel good.”
