Dak Prescott’s throwing hand drew attention after the Cowboys’ win over the Texans, but the injury appears to be more nuisance than alarm.
Prescott had a rough opening half by his own standards. Houston’s pass rush didn’t exactly live in the backfield, but it still disrupted his rhythm. He wasn’t reading the field cleanly, and a couple of sacks looked avoidable if he had climbed the pocket.
Then Prescott flipped the script.
In the second half, he looked like the quarterback Dallas leans on when the game starts tightening. Even while taking a pounding, he led the Cowboys to 28 points against Houston’s defense and finished the job with a game-winning touchdown to CeeDee Lamb with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Prescott’s throwing hand was wrapped, which naturally raised questions. But the concern didn’t last long. The Athletic’s Jon Machota reported that Prescott took a cut on the back of his throwing hand after getting stepped on, and the bandage is only there as a precaution to keep swelling down.
Prescott downplayed the issue, and the way he played makes it clear why Dallas isn’t panicking. He was sacked three times and hit 12 times overall, so the hand took some punishment over the course of the afternoon. Still, his movement and awareness kept Houston from landing even more clean shots.
There’s still a reason to keep an eye on it, though. Dallas has a short week coming up, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to town on Thursday night. That leaves Prescott with two fewer days than usual to recover, and the next 24 to 48 hours will matter.
Cowboys fans have seen a throwing-hand scare with Prescott before. In Week 1 of the 2022 season against Tampa Bay, his hand hit a defender’s helmet on a pass attempt, breaking his thumb and leading to surgery that sidelined him for five weeks.
This situation is different, and Prescott never left Sunday’s game. That alone is a good sign. And once the second half started, he looked every bit like the quarterback Dallas needed.
He completed 32 of 45 passes for 335 yards and one touchdown, good for a 71.1 percent completion rate, a 99.8 passer rating and an 89.0 QBR. That came after Dallas managed just six points in the first half and struggled to connect on anything beyond 10 yards.
Prescott could be limited in practice this week, but there’s nothing right now to suggest he’ll miss Thursday night. The Buccaneers dropped to 0-4 with their loss to the Packers, giving Dallas a chance to get above .500 for the first time this season.
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