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Dak Prescott was stumped.
He was discussing the coincidence of being thrust into the starting role at quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys because Tony Romo is out six to 10 weeks with a fractured bone in his back, similar to how he earned starting roles in high school and college.
Prescott found himself in a no-win situation.
For the first time since he’s been with the Cowboys, the sensational and seemingly unflappable rookie from Mississippi State, who calmly stared down the vaunted Seattle defense and survived the wrath of Miami defensive Ndamukong Suh, was finally flustered.
The two previous times Prescott took over for an injured starter, he took off and became a star, giving his predecessor no chance to return.
When asked if history was going to repeat itself, Prescott froze. He then laughed nervously.
I’m just going to do the same thing I did then, prepare to help my team win and be the best player I can be.
Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott on replacing Tony Romo
As much as he professed to being excited and ready for this opportunity, Prescott has no interest in starting a controversy before he starts his first game.
“Humph,” Prescott said before gathering himself. “I’m just going to do the same thing I did then, prepare to help my team win and be the best player I can be.”
And that’s all the Cowboys want him to do until Romo returns, whenever that is.
Romo has been fitted for a back brace, and Prescott is preparing not only to start the season opener but for at least the first six games of the season.
Yet, coach Jason Garrett still said Romo is day-to-day with a fractured bone in his back and refuses to publicly rule him out for the Sept. 11 season opener against the New York Giants.
“Yeah, again, like with every player on our team, we’ll take the situation day by day,” Garrett said. “Tony has a broken bone in his back. It’s a fracture. We’ve gotten a lot of different timetables for when he can return. We also know he’s played with a broken bone in his back before, so there is no reason for me to stand up here and put a timetable on this.
“I think a lot of that is people outside of this building have suggested what the timetable is. That’s not the world we live in. We live in the world of day by day, do what you can to get yourself better and we’ll update you as we go.”
Garrett said Romo will wear a brace to support the L1 compression fracture in his back.
“He just going to start getting into rehab, and part of his rehab is he’s going to be wearing a back brace for now,’’ Garrett said. “So you’ll see him around wearing that.”
Yeah I’m ready. I’m excited about it. It’s an opportunity.
Dak Prescott
In the interim, Prescott will be the man at helm of the Cowboys’ offense. He’s confident and ready, just like before.
“Yeah I’m ready,” Prescott said. “I’m excited about it. It’s an opportunity. It happened in an unfortunate way. But I’m definitely excited for my chance, my opportunity. I have confidence in myself, my teammates around me, just to go out there and be able to play relaxed, play as myself.”
That certainly was offensive coordinator Scott Linehan’s message when he informed Prescott of Romo’s injury before it was announced to the team.
“It was a pretty solid conversation, just that they had confidence in me and I was the next man up,” Prescott said. “Things happened a lot faster than I think we all expected it, but like I said, they have confidence, just keep being the person that I am.”
Prescott acknowledged that the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind with calls and texts from friends and family, so much so that he had to put his cellphone down.
He has taken to heart the messages of support from his Cowboys teammates, including Romo.
But this is still his team. I’m just going to try to do my best to hold the fort down, I guess you could say.
Dak Prescott on Tony Romo
“Yes, we’ve exchanged some texts [Saturday],” Prescott said. “Obviously I told him I’m sorry he was hurt and I hope he gets better and gets better soon for his own good. Just some good texts back. He supported me, he has my back. But this is still his team. I’m just going to try to do my best to hold the fort down, I guess you could say, give this team a great chance to succeed and win games each and every week.”
Prescott said receiver Dez Bryant, tight end Jason Witten, the running backs and the offensive line have all promised to have his back.
The Cowboys are rallying behind Prescott because of his sensational play during the preseason.
He has completed 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in three preseason games. Prescott has also rushed for two touchdowns. His 137.8 quarterback rating is the highest among any qualified passer in the NFL.
But he also won the team over because of his work ethic and the serious approach to the game that he has displayed since being taken in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Prescott said nothing has changed since Romo’s injury. He has always prepared himself to be the starter one day. He’s studying no more or no less. The timing has just been accelerated.
While some unknowns remain, considering that the intensity increases and the game plans get more complicated in the regular season compared with the preseason, there is no question the situation is not too big for him.
He’s ready just like he has been before.
“I feel like I belong here,” Prescott said. “This is where I’m suppose to be.”
Cowboys vs. Texans
7 p.m. Thursday, KTVT/11
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