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While the NFL playoffs haven’t arrived, we’re firmly in “must-win” territory. When the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys meet in Week 16, the playoffs will be on the line; in an instant, all of the regular season’s disappointments will be forgotten. It’s the type of game that Dak Prescott wouldn’t miss for anything.

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback spent the week battling through a nagging shoulder issue, but that’s all in the past. Nothing is going to stop Dak Prescott from taking the field on Sunday.

Dak Prescott has been Dallas’ shining star

For all of the Dallas Cowboys’ issues this season, Dak Prescott has been far from the problem. For all of Jason Garrett’s flaws and Jerry Jones’ bad decisions, the young quarterback has kept the club afloat.

Through the first 14 outings of the 2019 campaign, Prescott has thrown for 4,334 yards and 26 touchdowns. While those are already high-water marks for the signal-caller, his numbers look even better when compared to the NFL at-large. Prescott has thrown for the second-most yards in the league, only trailing Jameis Winston; his 26 touchdowns are tied for fourth overall. Dak also is a good spot in terms of total completions (third), yards per passing attempt (fifth), and overall QPR (third).

Prescott has struggled a bit with turnovers, but that’s somewhat understandable given the circumstances. The Cowboys have been plagued by slow starts this season; when you’re chasing the game and trying to make aggressive plays, mistakes are going to happen. In the total scope of Dallas’ problems, 11 interceptions aren’t what’s sinking the team.

Even with a nagging injury, Dak Prescott is good to go

During Week 15’s victory over the Los Angeles Rams, Clay Matthews tackled Dak Prescott after a seven-yard run. While the play looked innocuous, the Cowboys quarterback suffered an injured shoulder on the play.

Prescott finished the game but was limited in practice throughout the week; when he did take the field, he did not throw the football due to AC joint soreness. While the situation isn’t ideal, the quarterback isn’t concerned. “I mean, I’m getting better,” Prescott explained. “It’s as simple as that. The mobility, the function of it, it’s all improving. That’s the key. That’s the goal. I’ll be good to go Sunday.”

“It’s just annoying,” the QB continued. “It’s nagging. Definitely dealt with a lot more pain. So it’s just nagging.”

Both Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett echoed those sentiments; with the season on the line, there’s no doubt who will be under center.

With the NFC East up for grabs, it’s time to pull out all the stops

In the sports world, it’s not uncommon to hear that a player could have played if it was the postseason. While Sunday’s game is still part of the regular season schedule, it’s essentially a playoff contest. Both teams will be pulling out all the stops to win; for the Cowboys, that means having Dak Prescott under center.

For all of the Eagles’ issues, they have one of the league’s top run defenses; that will throw a wrench into the Cowboys standard game plan. Without the ability to grind it out on the ground and chew up the clock, Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore will need to open things up and throw the ball. Even if he’s not 100%, you’d rather have Dak Prescott under center with the season on the line than your back-up.

Dak Prescott might not have been feeling well this week, but big players step up in big moments. For this Dallas Cowboys team, it won’t get much bigger than Sunday.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.