'It's full-steam ahead': Mike McCarthy, Dak Prescott shift focus to Dallas Cowboys season opener

The 2021 NFL preseason was one to forget for the Cowboys, a team that went 0-4 with losses to the Steelers, Cardinals, Texans and Jaguars in consecutive weeks. According to head coach Mike McCarthy, that’s exactly what star quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys will do — move on, forget the past and prepare for the regular season, as Dallas opens the season on the big stage in Week 1: against the reigning Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night football.

“I mean, not to be Captain Obvious, but it’s full-steam ahead to Tampa,” McCarthy said. “We lost some opportunities to practice with Dak. Now that he’s back, our focus really, part of [offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s] focus and Dak’s focus really, this past week, we need to get as much in as we possibly can between now and the Tampa Bay game. Our focus is on Tampa.”

The Cowboys have moved on and will look to prepare for the upcoming matchup with the Buccaneers. As McCarthy alluded to, however, they missed some critical practice time with Prescott.

Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in 2020, forcing him to undergo surgery and miss a significant portion of last season. Heading into this season, Prescott signed a heaping four-year, $160 million contract with the Cowboys, and after returning to full health in the preseason, he tweaked his shoulder in practice. He left a July 27 practice with shoulder soreness and underwent an MRI that revealed a muscle strain.

Since then, Prescott has been slowly ramping up activity on the gridiron. On Thursday, Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore confirmed that Prescott is no longer facing limitations. Yesterday, owner and general manager Jerry Jones confirmed that notion, saying Prescott is back to “throwing with velocity.”

“Good to go,” Jones said when asked about Prescott on the Cowboys pregame show. “He turned it loose and was none the worse for it.”

Prescott finally returned to team drills on Wednesday for the first time since the July 26 right shoulder injury. He missed ten practices due to the injury, some out of mere caution, but kept conditioning and participating in footwork drills to be ready for Week 1.

“We’re going to do everything we can,” McCarthy said when asked how to ensure Prescott isn’t rusty when he returns.

Prescott did not play in the preseason, despite expressing that he was plenty healthy to play in the Cowboys preseason finale Sunday. The franchise opted instead to keep its quarterback on the sidelines, ensuring that he stays healthy.

Since his return to the practice field, he’s looked rather sharp. ESPN reported that Prescott completed 29 of 44 passes in team or seven-on-seven drills.

“We talked a little bit last night. We started this quest on April 19, there’s 300 days that are available to reach the Super Bowl and in between there you have to keep your eye on the target one day at a time,” McCarthy said. “This is the first game, it’s the most important game because it’s the next game … But I’ve played in that game. I’ve been on both sides of it. The feeling in the opening game, it’s a ton of energy, it’s a great game to compete in. Our guys, trust me, we’re looking forward to it and we can’t wait to get there.”