For all intents and purposes, the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 season is over. While the Cowboys still have one game left to play against the New York Giants on Sunday, the game has no real meaning and will only impact both teams’ draft position.
Both the Cowboys and Giants would benefit more from losing Sunday’s game rather than winning it, but as we’ve become accustomed to seeing, NFL teams are very reluctant to take their foot off the gas, even when their team is eliminated.
From a Cowboys perspective,
they kept that same foot on the gas mentality last week, playing all of their healthy stars in a non-playoff-implication game against the Washington Commanders. While the Cowboys were able to walk out with a win on Christmas Day, they suffered some bumps and bruises along the way. Two offensive starters, running back Javonte Williams and tight end Jake Ferguson, suffered injuries that knocked them out of the game.
While both Ferguson and Williams’ injuries don’t seem to be long-term issues, both of them going down showed just how risky it can be playing key players in virtually meaningless games. This week, against the Giants, the Cowboys need to use last week’s injuries as a warning sign and sit their star quarterback, Dak Prescott.
Prescott has been outstanding this season, but he’s taken plenty of hits along the way. In the first half of the year, Prescott’s impressive ability to avoid sacks masked some of the struggles of Dallas’s offensive line. As the season has worn on, the 32-year-old hasn’t been as equipped to play Superman, and the struggles of the offensive line have led to the quarterback taking a beating.
Last week against Washington may have been the most Prescott has been hit all season. The quarterback was sacked six times, along with three hits while throwing. Dallas also ran multiple quarterback sneaks, including the final play of the game, where Prescott took hits from multiple Commanders’ defenders.
The trend of Prescott being hit hard was not just a last week thing; in Dallas’ last nine games, Prescott has been hit 37 times (while throwing) and been the victim of 23 sacks. On the year, the former All-Pro has been hit while throwing 55 times, the second-most (2019) of his NFL career. Dak has also dealt with pressure at an extremely high rate, as his 138 pressures are also the second-most of his 10-year career.
Just this season, we’ve seen numerous talented quarterbacks go down with serious injuries. Playing in his 10th season in the league at 32 years old, there is absolutely no reason the Cowboys should let Prescott play on Sunday, potentially putting him in harm’s way.
If the Cowboys want any chance at returning to the playoffs next season, they need a healthy Dak Prescott to lead the way. Dallas should be smart and ensure their signal-caller will enter the offseason fully healthy by keeping him out of Sunday’s game.
