FRISCO, Texas — Even though the Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1) were eliminated from postseason contention when they took the field on Christmas Day, it was somewhat understandable as to why they would play 32-year-old, four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott.
Dallas was running the first leg of three standalone NFL games on a holiday in which most of the country was sitting at home. The Cowboys were also playing on a short week on Thursday, which wouldn’t provide many opportunities to get backup Joe Milton ready to roll after playing just 24 offensive snaps this season.
However, first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer plans to start Prescott, who suffered a season-ending hamstring injury midway through 2024, in Week 18 against the 3-13 New York Giants. Why? He would like for the Cowboys to finish 8-8-1 and avoid having a losing record.
“Yeah, plan on finishing strong and having Dak play, again get a chance to go 5-1 hopefully in the division, finish 8-8-1 and that’s the plan as we’re looking at now,” Schottenheimer said Monday.
It’s worth Schottenheimer reconsidering since Dallas surrendered a season-high six sacks in a 30-23 win against the Washington Commanders in Week 17 while playing Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith out of position at left tackle with Tyler Guyton (ankle) on injured reserve. Undrafted guard T.J. Bass has slid into the starting lineup at left guard with Smith at left tackle. Smith’s four quarterback pressures allowed were tied for his third-most in a game in his four-year career, per TruMedia, while Bass’ one pressure was tied for the fourth-most in a game in his three-year career.
“I didn’t think we did a good enough job protecting Dak last game. It wasn’t just those two guys. I thought we ran the ball really, really well. I thought the communication between those guys was really, really good. But I do think that our fundamentals got a little sloppy in a couple of…
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