This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.
The Dallas Cowboys entered Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season with high expectations for the season ahead.
A NFC East title seemed like an easy goal to attain. A longer-than-normal run in the playoffs was something many thought they could do.
But that all came crashing down in a hurry last night as they not only looked awful in a 19-3 loss at home to Tom Brady and the Bucs but they also lost QB Dak Prescott to a thumb injury that could leave him out for the next six to eight weeks, according to ESPN.
Prescott will now need surgery on his right thumb, which isn’t great. Head coach Mike McCarthy called it a “significant injury” and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones described his disappointment as “excruciating.”
And just like that, the Cowboys are in total disarray.
They’re also the only team in the NFC East that didn’t win a game yesterday, which only adds salt to the wound.
Prescott suffered a fracture in his right thumb after getting it jammed up with Bucs LB Shaq Barrett’s hand while following through on a screen pass. He could be seen shaking his hand after the play. He then headed to the sideline and trainers quickly had him run into the locker room for x-rays, which ended his night.
Now it certainly feels like the Cowboys season is over just one game into the year. QBs as we know, are everything in the NFL and without a stud like Prescott under center there is likely going to be a world of struggles for Dallas’ offense going forward.
My pal Christian D’Andre broke down six QBs the Cowboys could target, including Jimmy Garoppolo, but even if they’re able to bring somebody new in it’s going to take some time for them to get up to speed and in the NFL there really isn’t much time for that.
The Cowboys seem to always be one of the biggest soap operas in the league and that’s only continue this season. Fans are going to be calling for Mike McCarthy’s job while yelling about how Sean Payton should be the dude calling the shots.
It’s going to get ugly in Dallas.
Maybe Prescott can get back in time and help right the ship a little bit but it sure does feel like this is going to be a mess of a season for the Cowboys.
Quick hits: NFL Week 1 Awards… Collinsworth’s hoarse voice leads to jokes… Fantasy football advice… And more.
– Here are my NFL Week 1 Awards, where I take a fun look back at the good, the bad, and the hilarious from Sunday’s action, leading this week with why in the world was Joe Judge wearing a hoodie on the sidelines in steamy Miami?
– Cris Collinsworth’s hoarse voice last night had NFL fans making a lot of jokes.
– Charles Curtis breaks down a bunch of players you should be looking to grab off your fantasy football waiver wires this week.
– Aaron Rodgers tried so hard to shake off a big hit by Vikings LB Za’Darius Smith.
[listicle id=1959632]
[mm-video type=video id=01gcs7ag82yth7wxdmtx playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gcs7ag82yth7wxdmtx/01gcs7ag82yth7wxdmtx-f018cff4c971088c58c6950c9b7f567f.jpg]