Cowboys’ Dak Prescott: Eagles game ‘about making a statement to ourselves’

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is excited about his first chance to play against this year’s edition of the Philadelphia Eagles.

“If anything, it’s about making a statement to ourselves,” Prescott said Wednesday about the Christmas Eve encounter between the rival clubs, per Todd Archer of ESPN. “It’s about, as you look at the season, we’ve had some games where we played really well and some games where we bit ourselves in the foot and had some games where we didn’t and we lost. So yeah, this is about putting our best foot forward, putting our best effort out there and proving it to ourselves in all three phases that we’re a hell of a team and we can go get it done against one of the best teams in the league whether they’re in our division or not.”

Prescott was recovering from surgery on his right thumb when Dallas lost 26-17 at Philadelphia back in Week 6 on Oct. 16. Since that time, the Cowboys have accumulated an overall record of 10-4 and clinched a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the 13-1 Eagles seem destined to win the division title and earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament. 

Eagles starting signal-caller Jalen Hurts is dealing with a sprained shoulder and could miss Saturday’s clash. Prescott insisted the Cowboys are focused on the task at hand whether Hurts or backup Gardner Minshew starts for the visitors. 

“For them to be in our division and that they control the destiny in winning the division right now, yeah, you just want to get in and get another shot and make sure you put your best foot forward in doing so,” Prescott added. 

While Hurts is widely considered a Most Valuable Player candidate, Prescott has earned criticism for his turnovers throughout the campaign. As noted by ESPN, only Davis Mills of the Houston Texans (12) and Matt Ryan of the Indianapolis Colts (13) have thrown more interceptions than Prescott (11). That’s particularly noteworthy considering the 29-year-old has only played in nine games ahead of the holiday weekend.