FOXBORO, Mass. — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will undergo an MRI on Monday for a right calf injury that he suffered on his game-winning touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb to defeat the New England Patriots in overtime.
“Life keeps throwing punches and I’m going to keep throwing them back,” said Prescott, who was wearing a walking boot after the 35-29 win. “It’s a part of it. It’s part of this game. It’s a physical game we play. I’ll be fine. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself, the medical team. I feel good. Obviously, this [the boot] is a precaution. But, yeah, I mean, just more so thinking about the touchdown, it doesn’t hurt as bad obviously when you score and win the game.”
Prescott said he “came down funny” after the 35-yard throw that he made on the run while running to the Cowboys’ sideline. Had the Cowboys not scored, Prescott said he could have continued to play.
“It was a little pain, but, no, for sure, I would’ve been able to keep going,” he said. “I think the adrenaline would’ve been up and probably maybe not even felt it at that time. But I think the after the time you relax and it’s like, ‘Oh, well, there it is.'”
Given that Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle last October, he is not more concerned about a right calf injury. The Cowboys are heading into their bye week and the players are expected to have the entire week off.
A source said this injury is different than the calf strain wide receiver Michael Gallup suffered in the season opener on Sept. 9. Gallup has not played since.
“I’ll be fine. I can promise you that,” Prescott said. “Great timing going into the bye week, but as I said, y’all can have fun with it this week.”
Prescott had fun Sunday against the Patriots. He completed 36 of 51 passes for 445 yards with three touchdowns — two to Lamb — and an interception.
His 445 passing yards are the most ever allowed by a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team. Including the postseason, Hall of Famers Kurt Warner (401), Peyton Manning (400) and Warren Moon (399) had the most passing yards in a win against Belichick before Prescott.
“Honestly, I didn’t know I threw for that much until [Ezekiel Elliott] told me in the locker room,” Prescott said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the whole team. It’s about the practice we put into it. It’s about the way we go about our practice, the way we built our team. I’m just a product, I guess, of the stats but at the same time it’s the unselfishness. It starts up front with the communication in how we’re protecting and those guys getting open. They make my job easy.”
The Cowboys needed everything Prescott had. They were penalized 12 times for 115 yards, both season highs. They were just 2-of-5 in the red zone with Prescott throwing an interception and losing a fumble. The defense allowed four touchdowns to a New England offense that scored just eight touchdowns in the first five games.
“Can’t say enough about Dak Prescott, just the way that ball was being distributed and the calmness and the confidence he had in the pocket,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought out pass protection was excellent, but we knew this was going to be a dogfight. We knew this was going to be a huge challenge coming in here, and I really do think these kinds of wins during the course of the season could definitely pay forward for us.”
Trailing 29-26 with 2:05 left in regulation, Prescott directed a nine-play, 40-yard drive that included a fourth-down throw to Cedrick Wilson and a 24-yard gain on third-and-25 to Lamb that set up Greg Zuerlein‘s tying field goal with 20 seconds to play.
In overtime, Prescott completed all five passes for 71 yards, finding Lamb breaking free from Jalen Mills for the longest game-ending score of his career.
“I was expecting someone to pop up behind me and then there was no one within like three yards to my left,” said Lamb, who had nine catches for 149 yards. “[Mills] was kind of behind me and when I turned around I was actually surprised and I just walked in. It was the best feeling ever, honestly.”
The Cowboys (5-1) have a three-game lead in the NFC East as they head into their off week. Last season, they did not win their fifth game until Week 15. Their only loss came against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who needed a final-minute field goal for the 32-29 victory.
The only team with a better record in the NFL is the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.
“We know we’re for real,” Prescott said, “and we believe we’re for real.”