PHILADELPHIA — Initially CeeDee Lamb said he was “not telling nobody nothing,” but in a quieter moment of the Dallas Cowboys' postgame locker room, the receiver’s phrasing was telling.
“Cooper [Rush] did everything and exceeded all expectations, don’t get me wrong,” Lamb told Yahoo Sports, speaking in clear past tense. “But obviously 4 [Dak Prescott], when he comes back, we understand the situation.
“It’s always positive for us, understanding we’re going to get QB1 back.”
The time is coming. And pending an unexpected setback, it appears to already be here.
The Cowboys fell to 4-2, and third place in a competitive NFC East, as the Eagles outplayed them to the tune of a 26-17 decision on Sunday night. Rush, the veteran backup, sustained his first loss as starting quarterback in six tries, five this season. Cowboys teammates and coaches insisted blame fell on numerous shoulders. But Rush didn’t shy away from acknowledging his worst statistical outing.
The Eagles deflected 12 of Rush’s pass attempts, intercepting three. The picks “were obviously,” Rush said, “the deciding factor.
“Can’t have those.”
Meanwhile, in the stadium tunnel outside the Cowboys’ locker room, Prescott told reporters: “I plan on going this week and trying to get the full week of practice.”
Already the Cowboys’ starting quarterback had advanced meaningfully in recent days. Now five weeks removed from Sept. 12 surgery to repair a thumb fracture in his throwing hand, Prescott appears at last able and permitted to throw with purpose.
He moved past the early days of swelling reduction, and suffered no setbacks after the removal of his stitch on Sept. 26. Prescott began clutching a football during rehabilitation work at Cowboys practice, his grip strength returning from its post-fracture absence. Last week, Prescott worked into some individual throws at practice. The Cowboys upgraded him from a non-participant to a “limited” one Thursday, for the first time since his injury.
By Saturday, he was more seriously engaged.
“He threw two sequences, two racks of six in the 7-on-7 third down and red zone [period],” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday. “We wanted to push it to 50 throws today and I thought the guys did a great job for him.
“I thought, clearly, he took the next step.”
Prescott threw short and intermediate passes on Lincoln Financial Field just under three hours prior to Sunday night's kickoff. He cycled through footwork akin to his pre-injury script, finding receivers in the flat and on crosser routes over the middle. No visible limitations remained in the script that the team permitted Prescott to execute.
He said he felt “fantastic” and is now “preparing myself for the Lions, getting ready to go this week.”
The timeline would be roughly akin to the 4-to-6 week estimate medical officials hoped Prescott could traverse when he suffered a clean break. Prescott — and, very publicly, Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones — hoped to return sooner. The Cowboys declined to place Prescott on the minimum four-week injured reserve, citing a potential sooner return and a desire for Prescott to practice without any of the injury protocol restrictions. But Prescott’s health, and likely the Cowboys’ four straight wins in his absence, dictated a period of waiting.
“Obviously something was healing, I had plans, bone obviously didn’t have the same plan,” Prescott said. “They got pushed back, but that was just [from] me being eager. That was nothing different than doc’s plans, trainers’ plans.
“The plan is to go next week. Let’s see if I can do that.”
The need for Dak to be back
Sunday night’s contest reminded the Cowboys and NFL where Dallas is limited without its franchise quarterback. The Cowboys failed to convert a third-down attempt on their first four tries against Philadelphia, opening the prime-time matchup with a hard-to-rebound-from collection of punt, punt, interception, turnover on downs and interception.
At halftime, Rush’s 1.0 passer rating looked like a typographical error beside Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ 102.8 performance. Rush had completed just one pass for more than 10 yards to his own teammates — an 11-yarder over the middle to rookie tight end Peyton Hendershot, after receiver KaVontae Turpin’s 63-yard kickoff return energized Dallas — while Eagles defenders had reeled in two.
On his 122nd pass attempt this season, Cowboys QB Cooper Rush throws an interception. Some others have come perilously close, but Eagles CB C.J. Gardner the first to secure a pick from Cooper.pic.twitter.com/JQrWHulnwr
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 17, 2022
Eagles intercept Cowboys QB Cooper Rush twice—both times on deep balls over the middle.pic.twitter.com/IN3GLTTu5R
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 17, 2022
The Cowboys’ defense, which had yet to allow multiple touchdowns in a game, ceded two in the first half. So even as Dallas outplayed Philadelphia in the third quarter — 165 net yards to 6, 11 first downs to 2 —and scored 17 unanswered points by halfway into the fourth quarter, the Eagles rallied smoothly. Bleeding 7 minutes and 35 seconds off the waning final period clock, Hurts completed a 75-yard drive with consecutive power plays to his playmakers. Receiver A.J. Brown juked defenders for 16 yards after the catch on a 22-yard gain. The following play, Hurts faked a handoff before hitting receiver DeVonta Smith in the flat for a 7-yard score.
When Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham nailed Rush on a deep attempt, facing second-and-8 with 5:16 to play, cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson successfully dove to intercept Rush’s pass intended for Lamb.
The Eagles had effectively secured their sixth straight win, at 6-0 continuing their reign as the NFL’s lone unbeaten team.
Rush completed 18 of 38 attempts for 181 yards and three interceptions after four clean games. In Prescott’s absence, he has completed 57.7% of attempts (90-of-156) for 1,2020 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Cowboys prepared to learn from this performance gap and integrate lessons learned into their next performances, be it with Prescott or Rush under center. They'll also look to clean up a 10-penalty, 72-penalty yard day. Defenders aim to solve for run-pass option deceit, which the Eagles and dual-threat Hurts used to neutralize the Cowboys' pass rush and to bait defenders away from intended targets. On both sides of the ball, Dallas seeks to start faster. Contests against the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears before the bye week offer opportunities to reset.
“I think there is always value when someone cracks you in the jaw and you fight back and have a chance to win the game,” McCarthy said. “That is what this league is all about, and frankly, you can’t get to where we want to go without going through it. This team has tremendous passion and energy and play.”
With Prescott’s return looming, they may also soon have a franchise quarterback guiding the fight.
“Excited to move forward and happy as hell with the position we’re in,” Prescott said. “We can get rolling.”
Follow Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein
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