Dak Prescott aims to return for Dallas Cowboys' showdown vs. Los Angeles Rams in Week 5

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Once he shed the black bandage he wore Monday night as he watched his Dallas Cowboys withstand the New York Giants, Dak Prescott's right hand looked perfectly fine.

It worked well, too.

Prescott was lugging his rollaway suitcase using his right hand. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was tapping away text messages with his surgically-repaired right thumb, or stopping to take selfies, again snapping with that right thumb. Just minutes earlier, in the postgame locker room, Prescott dapped up former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who was celebrating the victory.

“I’ve been better,” Prescott told USA TODAY Sports. “But now that we’re winning it’s all good. And I’ll be back soon.”

The Cowboys (2-1) play the Washington Commanders, another NFC East foe, in Week 4. When asked about his potential availability for that game, Prescott shook his head. 

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“Nah, probably not,” he said of suiting up against Washington. “But Week 5 against the Rams? That's the one I'm looking at.”

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The chance to play against the defending Super Bowl champions, of course, has its draw.

Prescott’s hand showed no visible signs of swelling and the surgical incision was almost imperceptible. He said he had the single stitch removed at the stadium before the game. While his teammates warmed up an hour before kickoff, Prescott was dressed in a Cowboys track suit and cradled a football and tossed it lightly.

Once the team lands in Dallas, Prescott said he will meet with team doctors to assess the thumb's progress and devise his rehab plan. The next step will be gripping the ball firmly and throwing with more velocity.

“Some people are OK with (sitting out), but I’m not built that way,” Prescott said. “It’s (expletive) killing me not being out there with my guys. It’s so hard but I also know I got to be patient.”

Prescott has that luxury because the Cowboys have Cooper Rush. Making his third career start and second in as many weeks, Rush managed the pocket when the Giants brought pressure, released the ball quickly, avoided critical mistakes and orchestrated must-have drives in the second half. 

Rush completed 21-of-31 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown, a 1-yard dime to receiver CeeDee Lamb that was perfectly placed in the far corner of the end zone.

Prescott injured the thumb in the season-opening loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While he has diverted his energy on game days to supporting his teammates from the sideline, Prescott has also tried to use this experience to deepen his understanding of game speed and processing.

“It’s not that I’m learning things new about the defenses we face or anything like that, but I’m seeing more and more just how simple this game can be,” Prescott said. “Hearing the calls in the headset and then seeing how defenses line up from the sideline reinforces that sometimes all you have to do is slow the game down and go through the design of the plays. It can be so (expletive) simple. That’s what I can’t wait to get back to.”