'S*** No!' Dak Reveals Cowboys Mood for Jets - Even Without Rodgers

Dak Prescott has a firm answer to a question about whether it diminishes Sunday’s game vs. the Jets because the Cowboys won't get to face nemesis Aaron Rodgers.

FRISCO - Aaron Rodgers visiting the Dallas Cowboys after a trade from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets? It was to be the definition of a "marquee game,'' not to mention maybe one final opportunity for "America's Team'' to slay the dragon that is the four-time NFL MVP.

Unfortunately, in his first game with the Jets, Rodgers suffered a season-ending torn Achilles that has impacted greatly some storylines in Week 2. But has it changed anything about the intensity that Dallas QB Dak Prescott plans to bring to the matchup between two 1-0 teams?

"S*** no!" said Prescott frankly. "I wanted to play against the guy. I've had a lot of great battles with him over the years. Hell of a player, and it sucks that he's not going to be out there."

Prescott, like most of the rest of the Cowboys team, watched the Jets' matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, which turned out to be a 22-16 OT win for New York, helping set up this Sunday's battle at AT&T Stadium. But the Rodgers angle was in some ways almost as big as the final score.

"My heart broke for him ... You could tell by the way he went down that it was something more serious than an ankle,'' recalled Dak, who was then asked - as somebody who has dealt with a devastating season-ending injury - if he had a word of encouragement for the 39-year-old Rodgers. "I know he's got a lot of support so I'd say lean in on that. Everything happens for a reason. We don't (necessarily) see it or understand why but you just keep faith, take the small victories and, somewhere or another, good is going to come out of it."

Prescott stressed that even without Rodgers - who is 8-3 lifetime against the Cowboys - the Jets are a formidable foe, in large part because of their defense.

"To say that it diminishes an NFL game would be wild of me - especially understanding how great this defense is," he said. "Go watch the way they won that game the other night. They've got our respect and haven't lost any of that but, yeah, it's tough not playing against a guy I've enjoyed competing against for the entirety of my career."