Cowboys QB Dak Prescott out at least 1 game as team evaluates hamstring injury

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will miss at least one game with a hamstring injury that the team said Monday is still being evaluated.

Coach Mike McCarthy ruled out Prescott for Sunday’s game at home against Philadelphia. Prescott was injured in the second half of a 27-21 loss at Atlanta.

Multiple reports citing anonymous sources said Prescott was expected to miss multiple games. McCarthy said putting his 31-year-old QB on injured reserve was a possibility. That move would sideline Prescott at least four games.

“Obviously a lot of conversation,” McCarthy said. “I think once the doctors and really once he figures out exactly where he’s at, those are conversations that will probably happen here over the course of this week.”

Any lengthy absence for Prescott would be another setback in a season full of them for the Cowboys (3-5), who are on their first three-game losing streak since 2020. Dallas played the last 11 games of that 6-10 season without Prescott after he broke an ankle.

Prescott said after the Atlanta game that he noticed something might be wrong with the hamstring on a scramble, then felt something he hadn’t before on a throw. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

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Cooper Rush replaced Prescott against the Falcons. Rush was 4-1 as the starter filling in for Prescott two years ago after Prescott broke a thumb in a loss to Tampa Bay in the opener. Dallas went on to the second of three consecutive 12-win playoff seasons.

“It really doesn’t change anything with us,” McCarthy said. “This is about the quarterback room. We’ve always invested all the time and energy into the quarterback, Dak, that has the football. So now it’s Cooper’s turn, and Dak will be part of that process.”

The Cowboys are already three games behind Washington and Philadelphia in the loss column in the NFC East. The defending division champs host the Eagles (6-2) on Sunday, and Rush figures to get the call.

Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick by San Francisco in 2021, will be Rush’s backup. The 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys last year after he lost a battle for the backup job.

Lance played extensively in the preseason as the 24-year-old finishes out his four-year rookie contract. McCarthy indicated there were no immediate plans to get a glimpse of what the future with Lance might be.

Rush led the Cowboys on an 86-yard drive capped by his 4-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert in the final two minutes to cut the Falcons’ lead to six points. Atlanta recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.

“I think if you just look at the way we played the last game, we just really want to improve on the things we did well but also we’ve got to clean up the pre-snap penalties,” McCarthy said. Our focus is really to go into this and have a game plan to beat the Eagles defense, and we have great confidence in Cooper.”

In Prescott’s first eight seasons, Dallas missed the playoffs twice when he wasn’t healthy from start to finish.

The 2017 season was marred by running back Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations. A quick start in 2019 faded to an 8-8 finish, and then-coach Jason Garrett’s contract wasn’t renewed. McCarthy, Garrett’s replacement, is in the final year of his contract.

“It’s definitely hard,” McCarthy said. “I just think this is the path that’s been cut out for us. We’re going through adversity and it’s a phenomenal opportunity for us as a team.”

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