3 burning questions from Cowboys’ loss to Falcons

Things went from bad to worse for the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. They fell to 3-5 with a loss to the Atlanta Falcons , and now they're going to be without QB Dak Prescott for at least a few games due to a leg injury. With nothing going right and the season already seeming lost, what are some of the hottest questions going into Week 10?

How does Prescott's injury change perspectives on the rest of 2024? It probably shouldn't. The Cowboys were going nowhere fast even with Prescott playing, so his absence doesn't really flip the script. At the most, it adds to the sense of futility that had already developed regarding this season and may push the team further toward future-minded decisions.

Specifically at quarterback, the Cowboys now have an interesting question regarding playing time for Cooper Rush versus Trey Lance. If they were 5-3 and facing a multi-week absence from QB1, then Rush would be the starter with zero debate. You'd trust in his 5-1 record as a starter from 2021-2022 and that Dallas could weather this storm while remaining in contention for the playoffs.

We're in a much different place now. The Cowboys are significantly behind in both the NFC East and the wild card race. There's little confidence in what the team can do when fully healthy, let alone with all of the current injuries. So if this bus is already going off a cliff, how much value is there in asking Rush to drive it?

Granted, Trey Lance is a free agent next March and there's a good chance that Dallas won't re-sign him. He didn't show nearly enough in the preseason to be viewed as a key asset. But if the Cowboys do want some more evidence before making that decision, what better way to get it than having the 24-year-old run the starting offense in real games? It's the classic "what do you have to lose" scenario. You already know what Rush is, but maybe you can learn more about Lance.

Does anyone benefit from Prescott's absence? I think this could be good for WR Jalen Tolbert. Over the last three years, he's spent a lot of practice and preseason time working with Rush. We saw a play on Sunday where Tolbert was wide open and Prescott didn't see him, and that isn't the first time. Something we saw in 2022 when Rush played is that he was good about working through reads and finding the best option, and Tolbert consistently has opportunities with defenses focused on CeeDee Lamb.

One valid criticism of Prescott is that he's sometimes too focused on specific players, forcing the ball into bad spots. You want to trust your stars like Lamb to make plays, but we've seen him throw into double coverage even to the likes of KaVontae Turpin. Tolbert may not be doing a great job of getting open on his own right, and we know the offensive design isn't helping anyone in that regard, but Rush may give Tolbert more chances to make plays against single coverage than Prescott did.

Is Rico Dowdle officially RB1 now? He better be, or else this team has truly stopped standing on business. Between last week and the Week 5 win over the Steelers , Dowdle has clearly proven he's their best back and deserving of the most touches both running and receiving. He does the most with what a struggling offensive line offers, plus he's a solid enough pass blocker to be an every-down option.

The real question should be what Dallas does with other snaps at RB. Dalvin Cook looks washed up and Ezekiel Elliott has now added diva behavior to his on-field struggles. At this point, it would seem like leaning into the versatility of Deuce Vaughn and FB Hunter Luepke would better uses of your remaining RB reps. And since Turpin is limited as a receiver, do more with him in a backfield role or on other handoff plays.

Unfortunately, this strategy relies on a sudden wave of creativity from Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer that wouldn't be true to their form. If they're going to go down doing things their way, we won't see much to get excited back from these players. But at the very least, even their stubbornness shouldn't get in the way of Dowdle being the bell cow the rest of the way.