Lisa Salters shares the emotions that Dak Prescott felt during the National Anthem before the Cowboys' Home Opener against the Eagles. (1:05).
ARLINGTON (Texas) -- At AT&T Stadium cheered when Dak Prescott ran out to his early workout routine. The cheers were even louder when he returned to pregame warm-ups wearing full pads. It was even louder when he was announced as the starting offense prior to kickoff.
Prescott played in his first home game for 351 days following a dislocation and compound fracture to his right ankle. He completed 21 of 26 passes for 238 yards, and three touchdowns.
Prescott stated that he would take some time to reflect on the work he had done to get back on the field. However, he did not shed a tear during the national anthem.
He said, "I believe that it was sweat." I don't recall crying, but I do remember feeling grateful and thankful. It was a great opportunity to do what I love again and be back at AT&T with my teammates in a friendly atmosphere. This was also my first home game. It was truly special. It was certainly special.
"As I stated, the national anthem and pregame are the moments I take in most often, and this was certainly one of them. Yes, I am thankful for all that I have been through and what brought me to this point.
Prescott drove the Cowboys down the field quickly with a 44-yard pass to CeeDee lamb near the goal line. This was followed by Ezekiel Elliott's first of two rushing touchdowns in the first half.
Prescott was tackled on the second drive and lost a ball in the end zone. This was the Eagles first touchdown. He was also stopped by a fourth-down quarterback pass at the Philadelphia 1.
On the Cowboys' fourth drive, however, he completed his first of two touchdown passes to Dalton Schultz and threw for 19 yards.
Prescott completed 13 of 16 passes for the first half, gaining 148 yards. He missed only two passes in the second half and became the second Cowboys quarterback to complete at least 80 percent of his passes in consecutive games. In Cowboys' Week 2, win over the Los Angeles Chargers, he completed 23 of 27 passes and gained 237 yards.
Troy Aikman, Hall of Famer, had consecutive games that saw him complete at least 80% in both the last two games of 1993.
Monday's game marked Prescott's 10th consecutive appearance with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. In franchise history, only Tony Romo (22) or Roger Staubach (11) have more.
After helping the Cowboys defeat the Eagles on Monday night, Dak Prescott stated that he feels like "playing my best ever" Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mike McCarthy, Cowboys coach, said that Dak is a great guy. He's a great leader and I think anyone who has seen him will agree. He is clearly playing at a high level as a quarterback right now. I believe it's similar to many things: You only get what you put in.
After injuring his ankle on October 11, 2020, Prescott required two surgeries. Prescott underwent countless hours in rehab. He was not allowed to contact full contact during the offseason program, as the organization didn't want him to be at unnecessary risk.
He was 100% by training camp; however, he sustained a strain to his right latissimus muscle July 28th that prevented him from participating in 10 practices and four preseason games.
Prescott stated, "I said it earlier this year, and it'll be repeated again: I think just getting injured last year and having the opportunity to watch football gives me a different perspective on how people play this game." The experience has been beneficial, but I think it's just as important to study and prepare myself, and all the work I put into getting back healthy, not just the shoulder but my leg. I feel like I am playing my best ever.
McCarthy agreed, even though Prescott was expected to throw for over 6,000 yards before he was hurt last season.
McCarthy stated that McCarthy believes he is playing better now. "Last year we were in track meets. This football team is clearly different than last year. Three games have been played where I felt that we were very complimentary on both offense and defense. He is doing well in the run game, handling checks and such like.
"Yeah, he's playing better than ever this year,"
