Dak Prescott injured his right calf on the final play of the Cowboys’ overtime victory over the Patriots in Week 6. On Sunday, the quarterback played his first game since then.
Prescott played one of the worst games of his career, but he was not about to blame his performance on his injured calf or the rust between game action.
“My calf had nothing to do with the whole game,” Prescott said after the Cowboys’ stunning 30-16 loss to the Broncos.
Prescott’s 48.7 completion percentage was the second-worst of his career, behind only the 46.0 completion percentage against the Giants in a Dec. 11, 2016, loss his rookie year. His 73.9 passer rating was his worst for a full game since a 64.2 against the Patriots in a Nov. 24, 2019, loss.
“Obviously, I wasn’t as clean as I normally am or as I have been,” Prescott said. “It’s tough to say and blame (it on rust). I spent a lot of time off and came back in the first game (in Week 1 against Tampa Bay) different, so I’m not going to sit there and blame two weeks when I had a great week of practice under my belt coming into this one. I just missed some throws, and we weren’t our normal selves in the passing game when we needed to be. We didn’t execute.”
Prescott did not look like the MVP candidate he was over his first six starts. He completed 8 of his first 23 passes for 102 yards and an interception before two meaningless touchdown drives. He finished 19-of-39 for 232 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Prescott was a full participant in practice Thursday and Friday and did not have a designation. He was and is 100 percent, Prescott said.
“It held up fine. It was great,” Prescott said of his calf. “I mean, I did a lot of moving, did a lot of scrambling there getting outside of the pocket. No issues. I didn’t feel it. I’m fine.”
His game, though, was less than fine.
Prescott’s pass intended for Cedrick Wilson on fourth-and-two from the Denver 20 in the first quarter bounced at Wilson’s feet.
“I think I got ready to throw it on the crossing route, saw that guy’s hands up, and I think I just tried to change my arm angle at the last second and threw one at his ankles,” Prescott said. “At that point, I was hoping Ced maybe made a catch, but yeah, I mean, I don’t miss those throws. Those are throws that I’ve worked on a long time, whether I’m moving my feet or whether I’m not able to get my back leg through, just finding a way to make that throw. That’s something I work hard on. It pisses me off when I miss a throw like that. That’s a big fourth down early in the game that we can keep going and move forward and get a touchdown. I think it just changed the whole way that this game plays and goes from there if I complete that and we’re able to stay on the field.”
