Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, center, is helped off the field after suffering an unknown injury in the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Arlington, Texas.
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Get ready for talk of a rookie quarterback showdown on October 30 between the sudden stars of the NFC East: Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz and the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott in Dallas.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott hurdles Chris Prosinski on Sunday night.
And for the first time in his short stint filling in for injured Tony Romo, the rookie quarterback was able to effectively utilize all of the receiver trio of Bryant, Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams in the same game, a 31-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.
Prescott was in total command of the offense for a third consecutive game, and has now thrown 99 career passes without an interception, while Elliott rumbled to 140 yards from 30 carries for the most productive game of his fledgling career.
Wentz and Prescott are National Football League record-setters as rookies, with the two highest numbers of passing attempts without an interception to start a career.
“He plays with such poise and composure, and he focuses on himself and executing ball plays”, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.
Without Jay Cutler, who sat because of a right thumb sprain suffered Monday night, the Bears turned to quarterback Brian Hoyer, who was efficient enough but posed little threat outside of 10 yards.
Making his 27th career start for his fourth different team, Hoyer was 30 of 49 for 317 yards – a good portion of that with the game out of each late in the fourth quarter – and threw for two scores to Zach Miller. “This week was the reverse of what we’ve had”. The rookie took most of the remaining snaps in the first half, though it wasn’t all that noticeable due to the Cowboys’ dominance of possession. The drives succeeded in not only putting up points, but keeping the Cowboys’ inconsistent defense off the field; in each of the first two quarters, the Cowboys kept the ball for about 11 minutes. “He’s physically tough. He’s mentally tough”. They played without Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith (back), and left guard La’el Collins was knocked out of the game by a sprained foot.
There’s just a slight problem with the scenario for that prime-time game on Prescott’s new home field: It might be Tony Romo’s first game of the season coming off a back injury.
Romo is expected to miss about another month after breaking a bone in his back in the preseason. Dallas beat the Bears 31-17 in a game that never felt close. Bryant briefly exited with a knee injury on the opening drive. An MRI was planned this week. Bryant didn’t speak to reporters after the game. Linebacker Danny Trevathan is out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery to fix a thumb sprain. Dallas had a 19-4 edge in first downs before halftime and finished with 447 yards, including 199 on the ground.
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It took three games, but the wait for Prescott’s first career passing touchdown is finally over.
