Dallas Cowboys Implode - And Dak Prescott Needs Surgery - In Sluggish Week 1 Loss to Bucs

The Cowboys spent this entire offseason convincing themselves that their Dak Prescott-led offense boasted an array of play-makers and game-breakers. Instead, they look broken.

ARLINGTON - “America’s Team” being the attention-hogging phenomenon that it is, there are not many Dallas Cowboys weekends during which the central storyline is about a non-Cowboy.

But Tom Brady - remarkably un-retired in the NFL and remarkably undefeated against Dallas - is Tom Brady. And he accomplished just enough in Dallas’ 19-3 Sunday night Week 1 loss here at AT&T Stadium to make it appear as though it's the sluggish and implosive Cowboys who are trying to play pro football at the wobbly age of 45.

The Cowboys spent this entire offseason convincing themselves that their  Prescott-led offense boasted an array of play-makers and game-breakers.

In Week 1, anyway, they are shown to have been horribly, embarrassingly wrong.

And now, in addition to their psyches being beaten up, their bodies are. The Dallas medical tent was occupied all night, no incident more worrisome than the one that saw Prescott's throwing hand bash into some Bucs, sending the QB first to the sideline and then to the locker room, leaving backup QB Cooper Rush to mop up the mess.

In the aftermath? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that Prescott's hand/thumb will require surgery and that he is slated to miss "several weeks.''

"I thought I jammed it,'' Dak said. "But the next play I realized I couldn't grip the ball.''

Here’s the #Dak injury play … https://t.co/XpImtdZoYw pic.twitter.com/vjUugsq7vJ

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) September 12, 2022

In the category of "athletic, explosive performer,'' the Cowboys showcased Micah Parsons, who tried to save the Dallas day with his two red-zone sacks of the seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady. But the Cowboys demonstrated no evidence of employing a "Micah on offense.''

Closer #TomBrady gets to end zone, more #Cowboys #MicahParsons gets to sack him. pic.twitter.com/cGrYmwKUfv

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) September 12, 2022

Prescott will swear his midweek shoe/ankle "discomfort is a non-factor, and we will believe him. But a Cowboys observer is moved to follow up wondering, "OK, then what is wrong?'' (Well, besides, now his hand.)

Where was the CeeDee Lamb (two catches, 29 yards) who is supposed to be equal to the NFL's best? (And can somebody get Will Fuller or Denzel Mims on the phone, please?)

Where was the celebrated "two No. 1 running backs'' double-punch of Ezekiel Elliott (52 yards) and Tony Pollard (who spend a large part of the night with negative yardage)?

Where was the help from Lamb's friends who Dallas insisted would pick up the slack of the dump-departed Amari Cooper? Lamb, Noah Brown, Dennis Houston, Simi Fehoko and KaVontae Turpin combined for 134 receiving yards, while "awesome'' third-rounder Jalen Tolbert wasn't even good enough to dress out.

The Cowboys promised that this Week 1 would be different from a year ago, when Dallas lost the opener at Tampa. Revenge would be had against Brady, they hooted, by guaranteeing they'd "Let the dawgs eat!''

Oh, this was different, alright. Last year, Dallas scored 29 points and lost by two. 

This year, Dallas slogged through a night when it was lucky to score three. And now might be unlucky enough to have a Prescott injury problem that cannot be laughed off.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Cowboys?

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!