Dak Prescott Powers Emotionally-Charged Cowboys' Win Over Wounded Giants
ARLINGTON - "Revenge''? No, this wasn't about Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott seeking "revenge'' against the New York Giants who "wronged him'' almost exactly a year ago, on this field, in this NFL week, in this circumstance.
But Cowboys .... Giants wasn't just another football game, either.
''I'm not going to be naive and say I'm not going to think about it,'' Prescott said, reflecting on the October 11, 2020 play against the Giants that resulted in a gruesome ankle injury that ended his season and sent him into surgery, rehab and a bout with depression. ''I think just more than anything it'll just be gratitude and just thinking about how much of a blessing the last 364 days have been of going through that and overcoming that and becoming as I continue to say a better person and a better player.''
Prescott, who also spent the offseason forging for himself a new four-year, $160 million contract, has an astounding knack for saying the right things. Just as important, though, in Sunday's meeting here at AT&T Stadium against NFC East rival New York was making sure he and the Cowboys did the right things in what would be a 44-20 blowout victory.
The Cowboys entered the day at 3-1, with a chance at wrapping up this three-game homestand with a resounding win - and maybe to take a resounding lead in the division. The idea was to do so with some help from a play-making (Jaylon Smith-less) defense that would survive running back Saquon Barkley (back from his own devastating injury) and quarterback Daniel Jones (some ball-protection away from being a scary threat at the position), but maybe more, behind one of the NFL's most consistently productive offenses.
It's a group of which New York coach Joe Judge said, "You can spin the wheel'' because it is so loaded with balanced, high-octane talent.
But Barkley (ankle) and Jones (concussion) both exited the game due to injury, leaving the Giants woefully undermanned against Dak (22 of 32 passing for 302 yards and three TD passes) and weapons like Ezekiel Elliott (110 rushing yards and a TD on both the ground and through the air) and CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper (each with a superb scoring catch) ...
And for that matter, against a Cowboys defense topped by cornerback Trevon Diggs, who recorded an NFL-leading sixth interception. ... and helped by his running buddy, Anthony Brown at the other corner, who grabbed a late-game pick-six TD.
Indeed, Dallas' biggest Dak-related challenge here may have come on Thursday back at team headquarters at The Star, when a gust of wind accompanied a question about the injury anniversary ... and the sponsorship sign positioned behind the QB came off its anchors and almost crashed down on him.
''That was the omen,'' Prescott said, grinning. ''Don't even ask it. We're already past it.''
There are no scars from the sponsorship sign. There are, however, scars from a year ago.
READ MORE: Is Diggs Going to Win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year?
''At this point, I feel like I've healed well,'' Prescott said. ''The scars are pretty. I've got a bunch of them and they mean something and they remind me. ... What I'm thankful for is the person that I've become after the scar I have.''
Dallas can also be thankful that the club has won four straight to vault to 4-1, twice as many wins as anybody else in the NFC East.
No, Dak Prescott didn't beat the Giants on Sunday out of revenge. He beat them because of that play-making defense, that spin-the-wheel offense, and yes, maybe because of that scar.
Oh, and certainly because the Giants are pretty scarred up themselves.
