Former Cowboys safety reveals Vikings were preparing for Dak Prescott
The way the Dallas Cowboys handled the whole Dak Prescott availability situation was more than odd. Although reports emerged on it being a game-time decision, in reality, it seemed like the Cowboys knew from Day 1 that Prescott was not going to play. Never mind him getting a solid pre-game workout in before kickoff. Cooper […]
The way the Dallas Cowboys handled the whole Dak Prescott availability situation was more than odd. Although reports emerged on it being a game-time decision, in reality, it seemed like the Cowboys knew from Day 1 that Prescott was not going to play. Never mind him getting a solid pre-game workout in before kickoff.
Cooper Rush was always going to start versus the Minnesota Vikings. Yet the Cowboys managed to keep things interesting for a while. Betting markets shifted, Rush took first-team snaps all week, yet the drama was turned all the way up in Minnesota up until 90 minutes before game time when the inactive lists came out.
In fact, following what reporters were saying before the game was almost as exciting as the game itself. "Man, y’all are all gathered together in one spot!" Dak Prescott told reporters during his warm-up, per Mike Leslie.
At one point, NFL Network's Jane Slater tweeted out, "I'm just as interested in whether Dak Prescott starts tonight. So much conflicting information leading up to it too hard to separate fact from fiction."
When a reporter of Jane's caliber says that, then it truly means we had no idea. But again, the Dallas Cowboys surely did. Teammates were reportedly told to expect to play with Rush under center.
But the Cowboys' secrecy around Dak's status apparently worked. At least according to Vikings Safety Xavier Woods, it did. After the game, the former Cowboy offered some insight contradictory to the one put out by Vikings HC Mike Zimmer:
"A couple (of) clips of Coop." To be fair, Rush had thrown three passes in his career before Sunday night's game. So there wasn't much to study. But even still, not a great look for the Vikings.
I will be the first to admit I wasn't a fan of how the Dallas Cowboys went about all of this. I fully understand what they were doing and why. But I'm not afraid to admit that I would've liked the Cowboys to be more transparent.
I'm not sure there's a lot of advantage – if any – to be gained in hiding what Prescott's status was before the game when the alternative is Cooper Rush. All I know is that, in the NFL, it probably helps when your rival is preparing for another quarterback. It also worked out just fine as the Cowboys got a surprising win with Rush leading the way.
It's nice to see that at the very least, Mike McCarthy's coaching staff had Minnesota thinking another quarterback was going to start on Sunday Night.
As for the Minnesota Vikings, I wonder if Xavier Woods is going to be invited to the P.R. office for a quick meeting.
Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
