One of the many reasons the Dallas Cowboys fell apart this season was the hamstring injury quarterback Dak Prescott suffered in Week 9 during a loss at the Atlanta Falcons.
At the time, the Cowboys dropped to a 3-5 record, and they were already teetering on the brink of disaster, but Prescott’s injury, which ended his season, tipped them over.
He had to have surgery on his leg, but he recently gave a positive update on his recovery.
“My health is good,” Prescott said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Doing a lot more, getting there. I think I’m what, 12 weeks or so out of surgery now, so I’m really looking to amp it up here recently, got all my confidence and we’ll be fine.”
Dak Prescott with a health update after having season-ending hamstring surgery pic.twitter.com/ojAYyyJSYO
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 11, 2025
Prescott’s injury coincided with a five-game losing streak that Dallas wasn’t able to recover from.
Backup Cooper Rush was able to lead them to four wins in their following five games, but it simply wasn’t enough.
In his eight games in 2024, Prescott played beneath his standards by throwing for just 1,978 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions after he was a leading NFL MVP candidate in 2023.
But the Cowboys need a lot more than a healthy and productive Prescott in order to gain respectability next season.
They have a huge hole at running back, and they are arguably the worst team in the NFL when it comes to defending the run, and those aren’t their only shortcomings.
Given their salary cap situation, which has been massively affected by the four-year, $240 million contract extension Prescott received, it will be difficult for them to address all of their needs.
