'Life keeps throwing punches' - Cowboys QB Dak Prescott opens up on recent injury setback
Quarterback Dak Prescott hobbled into the postgame press conference room, his smile big and his shoes mismatched.
On his left foot, he wore a sneaker. On his right lower leg, a walking boot.
Prescott injured his right calf in overtime as he rolled out to the left to escape the pocket on the game's final play, a 35-yard touchdown to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb for game-winning TD in overtime.
Cowboys 35, Patriots 29
https://t.co/njz8cWi1cB
(via @NFL)
The quarterback took more than half a dozen steps to his right, balancing on his right leg as he hurled a pass down the right sideline past tight end Dalton Schultz and to the streaking Lamb. The pass landed as hoped but Prescott did not.
Dak Prescott opens up about his recent injury setback
Prescott opened the press conference with the following:
"Let's get the elephant in the room. Let's knock it out."
He went on:
"The last throw, [I] came down funny. That's what it was. We'll get it checked out. I'll be fine, can promise you that. Great timing going into the bye week. I'll be fine."
The quarterback said he came down funny on the play. Prescott also said he did not believe the injury was severe enough to have exited the game if it was not over.
"I think adrenaline would have been up and may not even have felt it at the time. But the time you relax, it's like, 'Oh, there it is.'"
The Dallas Cowboys said Prescott appears to have strained his right calf. The team will reevaluate the player with an MRI on Monday.
The injury severity was not apparent and Prescott was as jovial as ever in his postgame interview. But even as he remained unflinching with shoulders up, Prescott hobbled with a clunky walking boot.
The Cowboys' immediate bye week will undoubtedly help with any recovery timeline, but any setback would add to what's been a tumultuous 13 months for Prescott.
Dak Prescott injury from last year
Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in Week 5 of the 2020 season against the New York Giants, requiring emergency surgery to clean the wound and repair the fracture.
The quarterback's rehabilitation process was steady but slow-progressing over the course of nearly six months.
Last December, Prescott underwent a subsequent operation to further stabilize his right ankle.
By training camp, Prescott's warmups remained intricate, but the mental and physical shackles were long gone. He was permitted to face a live rush, and he could scramble unconcerned.
Then, on the first day of padded training camp practices, Prescott suffered a latissimus strain near his throwing shoulder. For four weeks, he was limited.
Prescott's opening-week performance suggested a history of neither. He completed a 28-yard pass play on his first snap and ultimately threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-29 loss to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Prescott's injury from last night
What went through Prescott's mind when he felt "a little pain" after the game-winning play?
Dak Prescott says he came down funny on final play of game. He’s now in a protective boot with what team says is a right calf strain that will be reevaluated.
“Life keeps throwing punches and I’ll keep throwing them back. It doesn’t hurt as bad when you score and win the game.” https://t.co/4JEq4WEIxo
"I was just like, 'No way.' Life keeps throwing punches, and I'm going to keep throwing them back. It's part of it, part of this game, It's a physical game we play, but I'll be fine. [I] Got a lot of confidence in myself, the medical team, and, as I said, I feel good. Obviously, this is precaution."
He added that the win helps with the pain:
"It doesn't hurt as bad when you score and win the game, so all that's a plus."
A record-breaking night
Prescott performed historically despite the lingering uncertainty of the injury. He completed 36-of-51 pass attempts for 445 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 35-29 win.
Prescott's 445 passing yards were the most ever gained against a Bill Belichick-coached team, surpassing Peyton Manning's 438 yards vs. the New England Patriots in 2014.
The Cowboys' 567 total offensive yards were also the most a Belichick defense had ever allowed in his 27-year career.
"When you have a group like this, you believe in yourselves no matter what. No matter what's against you. We proved that again tonight."
He joked that his calf strain was simply an attempt to give the media a point of conversation during the bye week.
"I'll be fine. Have fun with it."