Throughout the week, Dak Prescott downplayed the near-one-year anniversary of getting injured against the New York Giants.
After the Cowboys whipped a banged-up Giants team, 44-20, on the very field where, 364 days prior, Prescott suffered a brutal season-ending injury in Week 5 of 2020 against Big Blue, the star quarterback finally admitted it meant something to him.
"I'm glad it's over with, I'm glad I'm past that and I think this was the final shovel in burying this thing," Prescott said, via ESPN.
Prescott got off to a slow start, including an interception on the first drive and a botched snap on the third that kept the Giants in the game early. Prescott said early he was in a "mental fog," until his 49-yard bomb TD to CeeDee Lamb early in the second quarter lifted the haze.
"As much as I've tried to put it off, as much as I've tried not to think about it, I think it just naturally does, right?" Prescott said of the anniversary of his injury. "And it's in the back of your head, unconsciously or not. Yeah, I would say I didn't quite feel as energetic or as myself early in the game. I don't know if that played a part in it or not, but once I threw that touchdown to CeeDee, that was kind of when I just started rolling and got in a groove."
Prescott played well in blasting past New York, tossing for 302 yards on 22-of-32 passing, averaging 9.4 yards per attempt, throwing three TDs and one INT and generating a 116.9 passer rating.
This year, it wasn't the Cowboys who came out of this division matchup with big injury worries. The Giants saw three big-name offensive players exit during the contest. Saquon Barkley suffered a freak ankle sprain after stepping on a foot after a play; Daniel Jones got concussed trying to score late in the half; and receiver Kenny Golladay exited with a knee injury.
Prescott said it was hard not to think about his own injury when watching the Giants exit one by one.
"It definitely came in my head like, 'Get that thing out of here,'" Prescott said. "I mean I flip the page quick. I mean I've got a short memory so obviously it's thought about at that moment. My thoughts went for him and I hope he's OK and I hope Saquon and all those guys [are OK]. You never want to see anybody get hurt. It's a physical game. We know this game can take a toll on your body, but you never want to see anybody taken out."