Dak Prescott took a shot in the ribs that had the whole sequence looking dicey for the Cowboys at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.
The play came in a hard-charging moment, with Zaire Franklin running through the gap and his path to Prescott clear. The defender drove into Prescott’s side and kept working until the quarterback was on the ground. Prescott stayed down longer than he usually would, and on the very next snap he threw an interception.
After the game, Prescott said he was slow to get up because the wind had been knocked out of him. He did appear to be hurting after the hit to the ribs, but he told reporters, “ I wasn’t coming out of the game.”
Asked whether the hit led to the interception, Prescott answered, “I’m not a guy of excuses.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Prescott did not have any x-rays. Schottenheimer also said Cowboys LB Dee Winters has an achilles strain, while WR KaVontae Turpin has rib cartilage but x-rays were clean. To Schottenheimer’s knowledge, Prescott did not receive any x-rays.
Because the contact was to the rib area, any real concern about an injury would have led to an x-ray to check the damage. No x-ray pointed to no major health issue.
Even so, the hit helped set up a turnover, and Prescott never really looked like himself after that. The Cowboys appear to have dodged the worst-case outcome, but the night still left them with plenty to deal with.
In Other News...
Lukas Van Ness Just Reopened A Packers Pass Rush Debate
Lukas Van Ness gave the Packers exactly the kind of early-season jolt they needed off the edge, flashing the sort of production that can change how a defense looks in a hurry. The problem is that the burst has cooled, and with the rush opposite Micah Parsons still under the microscope, Green Bay is back to weighing whether Van Ness can settle into the reliable role the front four needs.
He has still affected plays with pressure, but the inconsistency has reopened a familiar debate about whether the Packers can count on him as more than an occasional impact rusher. What happens over the final weeks will matter, because the discussion around that spot is no longer just about development, it is about whether Green Bay eventually decides it needs a steadier answer there. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Have Every Reason To Be Fed Up With This Rule
Week 6 brought another jolt of frustration for fans already skeptical of how roughing-the-passer gets applied, and the Packers wound up right in the middle of it. A flag against Lukas Van Ness came during a play involving Dak Prescott and turned a defensive takeaway into a conversation piece, joining a similar controversy elsewhere that week when the Chiefs were penalized on a play involving Chris Roland-Wallace.
For Green Bay, the sting was less about the final score and more about the way the sequence unfolded. The Packers still won their game, but the penalty again raised the familiar issue of how much contact is too much and why rulings that erase interceptions can feel so hard to accept in real time. For a fan base that has seen this rule spark debate before, it was another reminder that even a victory can come with a lingering gripe. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Cowboys Tension Just Raised The Stakes For This Primetime Test
A primetime matchup between the Packers and Cowboys already carried plenty of weight, and the pregame temperature only climbed higher Sunday night. Green Bay came in off a strong Week 5 win, while Dallas arrived trying to steady itself after a recent loss and a coaching addition, with Mike Pettine stepping into an advisory defensive role.
Before the Week 6 Sunday Night Football game was set to begin, players from both teams mixed it up in an end zone and had to be separated by officials. It was the kind of early flashpoint that can sharpen the edge of a big stage game, especially one scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. EST start. [Read more 🡒]