Prescott, Cowboys face Giants again year after ankle injury
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (AP) » Same opponent. Same stadium. Same week.
The NFL didn’t do Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott any favors sending the New York Giants to the $1.2 billion home of the Cowboys in Week 5. As a result, the setting Sunday will be a repeat almost a year to the day since the severe ankle injury that ended his 2020 season.
“I’m not going to be naïve and say I’m not going to think about it,” Prescott said. “I think just more than anything it’ll just be gratitude and just thinking about how much of a blessing the last 364 days have been of going through that and overcoming that and becoming as I continue to say a better person and a better player.”
When Prescott’s lower right leg snapped while being tackled by cornerback
Logan Ryan last Oct. 11 at AT&T Stadium, New York running back Saquon Barkley had already been sidelined three weeks since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Don’t count out Barkley in the Comeback Player of the Year race, particularly after his first game of 100plus scrimmage yards since his return. Barkley had 126 yards and the winning touchdown in a 27-21 overtime victory against New Orleans, the first for the Giants (1-3).
“We saw some of the plays that he’s made throughout his career in the early part of the season, but that game the other day, you saw exactly what you said,” Giants offensive coordinator and former Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “You saw him make some great space plays, but also some tough runs inside.”
The Cowboys (3-1), wrapping up a three-game
homestand with the second NFC East opponent in that stretch, have been rolling since a last-second loss to defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay, thanks in large part of Prescott’s precision control of one of the NFL’s best offenses in his return from the compound fracture
and dislocation of his ankle.
“I think when you talk about their offense, you can go ahead and just spin a wheel,” Giants coach Joe Judge said. “There’s a weapon at every turn, so you can’t focus on one guy. You’ve got to play good, sound defense as a team and work hard to get them off the field, and that’s easier said than done.” IT MUST BE A SIGN The first question from reporters for Prescott this week was obviously about the anniversary of the injury. Before the question was even finished, a gust of wind sent the sponsor backdrop toppling toward him.
“That was the omen,” Prescott said with a smile. “Don’t even ask it. We’re already past it.”
Of course, there were plenty more questions, from how often he looks at the pair of scars from the two surgeries, to the fact that he fast-forwards past the moment of the injury, to how much he has altered his running style (“Get what I need to and get down and get out of bounds,” he said).
“At this point, I feel like I’ve healed well,” Prescott said. “The scars are pretty. I’ve got a bunch of them and they mean something and they remind me. As I’ve said, it’s really what I’m thankful for is the person that I’ve become after the scar I have.”
LOGAN RYAN’S RETURN
It’s a return to the scene for the New York cornerback as well. Prescott tried for a stiff-arm as Ryan tackled the quarterback in the open field. He has frequently called it “just a freakish play.” Dallas went on to win the game 37-34.
“It was a tackle I’ve made over 500 times in my career and that one just felt different,” Ryan said.
Prescott has credited Ryan for the way he reached out after the injury. Ryan joked that he wouldn’t mind an acknowledgement on the field.
“Yeah, he can throw the ball right to me on the first play and we’ll call it a truce and we’re good to go,” Ryan said with a laugh. “Then we can kick the game off, and they’ll be down 7-0.”