Horrific injury for Prescott in Cowboys’ win over Giants.
Prescott is carted off with gruesome injury
ARLINGTON — After Dak Prescott’s season ended with a horrific ankle injury, his running mate for all five of their seasons with the Dallas Cowboys had a hard time getting through a postgame interview.
Ezekiel Elliott sounded crushed, even after backup Andy Dalton led a drive capped by Greg Zuerlein’s second game-ending field goal of the season to lift the Cowboys past the winless New York Giants 37-34 on Sunday.
“I can’t even think right right now,” Elliott said to no question in particular as he
continued trying to absorb the third-quarter injury to Prescott, a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback who was an unheralded fourthround pick the same year Elliott went fourth overall.
“It’s hard to kind of put in words,” Elliott, who rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns, said in the middle of an answer about Dalton’s role in the rally. “I’m sorry. I’m just struggling a little bit right now.”
Prescott was going down in the arms of defensive
back Logan Ryan at the end of a 9-yard run in the third quarter when the Dallas quarterback’s lower right leg got caught under Ryan and appeared to snap.
Prescott reached for the leg as he writhed in pain, and TV images showed his right foot bent at an awkward angle away from his leg. He was fighting back tears as he was carted off with a cast on the leg.
Most of Prescott’s teammates rushed to him, as did several Giants, including Ryan.
The team said Prescott had a fracture dislocation of the right ankle and was taken to a hospital for surgery.
Prescott had been incredibly durable until Sunday, starting the first 69 games of his career.
“I feel terrible for him,” first-year coach Mike McCarthy said. “He was having a tremendous year in the short time working with him. He’s made such an impression on me, and he’s clearly the leader of this football team. I have no doubt that he’ll bounce back from this, and this will be all part of his great story.”
Michael Gallup made two spectacular sideline catches on the final drive. The first was a toe-dragging 19-yarder and the second an over-theshoulder catch to the New York 16 with Ryan Lewis running stride for stride and one foot barely staying inbounds. Both catches help up on review, the latter after the Cowboys had run the clock down to 3 seconds before a timeout to set up Zuerlein’s 34-yarder to drop the Giants to 0-5. Both wins for the NFC East-leading Cowboys (2-3) have come on game-ending kicks by Zuerlein, and after rallies from deficits of at least two touchdowns.
It was the first game back at the home of the Cowboys for former coach Jason Garrett, the Giants’ offensive coordinator who was replaced by McCarthy in Dallas after the Cowboys missed the playoffs amid high expectations last season.
Four years ago, Garrett chose to keep Prescott, then a rookie leading a team on a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, as the starter even after Tony Romo got healthy. Prescott, who replaced an injured Romo in the preseason, has started every game since.
Garrett’s offense stopped a two-game streak without a touchdown, getting a 3-yard score on a reverse by tight end Evan Engram on the Giants’ first possession.
The Giants led 17-3 in the second quarter — the fourth straight game with a doubledigit deficit for the Cowboys. But Dallas made up the deficit and then some before the end of the half, going up 24-20 with 16 seconds left on Prescott’s first career touchdown catch. The 11-yarder was from receiver Cedrick Wilson, who took a reverse pitch from Elliott.
Prescott had a huge smile when greeted by right guard Zack Martin after becoming the first Dallas quarterback with a touchdown catch since Danny White had his second in 1985. A mere 30 minutes later, Prescott’s season was over.
“I’ve got a sick taste in my stomach for it, because he was playing hell of a game; it was a hell of a battle between us,” Ryan said. “Nothing ill will on my part. I know he’s going to come back stronger.”