Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Sends Warning to Broncos Ahead of Week 8 Game
Heading into Week 8, the Dallas Cowboys are in a strong position to continue playing decent football. Currently sitting in second place in the NFC East, the Cowboys are 3-3-1 and are coming off their best win of the season against the Washington Commanders.
A lot of the Cowboys’ early success is due to quarterback Dak Prescott, who sounds like he believes his team has an opportunity to beat anybody on any given Sunday. Prior to the game against the Broncos, Prescott sent a warning to Denver and the rest of the NFL, stating that he and his teammates aren’t worried about going up against anyone, and they know they’re a resilient group who will play hard each and every down.
“We can play, we’re going to be tough,” Prescott said, per the team. “You better be ready to come in and fight on all phases, we’re going to give you everything that we’ve got. Resilient group. More importantly, a group that trusts each other, that has each other’s back, and we’re going to do whatever it takes.”
All Dak Prescott Has Done is Improve
Prescott has continued to show improvement over the past few years. As an NFL quarterback, there might not be anything more important than improving week in and week out.
Playing for the Dallas Cowboys has plenty of pressure, but all Prescott has done throughout his time as the Cowboys quarterback is say and do the right things. Of course, that hasn’t led to the team winning a Super Bowl just yet, but a lot of that isn’t on Prescott. As he gets ready to take on the Broncos, he remembers some of the uglier days, especially the game against the Broncos in 2017, when he threw two interceptions.
“That was one was probably one of the uglier games of my career for sure,” Prescott said. “I remember the big rain delay or lightning delay early in the game, I remember Von Miller, Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, they had some guys. Definitely remember that one. Fresh, obviously, going back there.”
Are Cowboys a Playoff Team?
As Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys get prepared for the remainder of the season, even with games outside of the Denver Broncos in Week 8, it’s important that they continue to grow.
Not many had a lot of thoughts about the Cowboys being a playoff team due to their below-average defense. That may still be the case due to how bad the defense has been, but Prescott has learned a lot since the early days, and that’s the most important factor here.
Having an above-average quarterback is often the biggest thing in the NFL, and it looks like the Cowboys have found one who isn’t just above average, but is a star.
“Year 2 was tough, and that’s probably why it was a down year for me. I’m a guy that wants to push, wants to get better, wants to be coached hard. I didn’t have a lot of growth from Year 1 to Year 2, which is also on myself… every part of my game has evolved and changed and gotten better since then.”
Kyle Dugger Absence vs. Browns Strains Patriots Secondary
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With their Week 8 matchup against the Cleveland Browns set to kick off at Gillette Stadium, the New England
The Patriots (5-2) enter this matchup on the heels of a dominant 31-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Cleveland (1-5) also won its Week 7 contest against the Miami Dolphins by a score of 31-6 at Huntington Bank Field.
With just over an hour until the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff, the Patriots and Browns have released their lists of inactives:
PATRIOTS INACTIVES:
S Kyle Dugger
LB Caleb Murphy
WR Efton Chism, III
DE Eric Gregory
DE Keion White
G Caedan Wallace
QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB)
What it Means for the Patriots:
Dugger entered the weekend as questionable for Week 8 with a knee injury. The Lenoir-Rhyne product did not participate the the Pats final practice of the week and was the lone Patriot to be listed on their ultimate injury and practice participation report.
This season, Dugger has appeared in all seven games [making four starts] while compiling 17 total tackles. Due to his preseason and early-season struggles, the former Pats’ team captain has been the subject of both trade and release rumors — the former of which are expected to continue up to the NFL’s
Throughout his five-plus seasons in Foxborough, Dugger has appeared in 81 regular season games, making 69 starts. He also started his only playoff appearance in 2021. The Decatur, Georgia native has compiled 441 total tackles, nine interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while scoring three defensive touchdowns. His extensive knowledge of the Patriots playbook made him the logical choice to serve as their starter with veteran Jaylinn Hawkins being sidelined for the past two games with a hamstring injury.
Despite having just been signed by the Patriots on Oct. 15, defensive back Richie Grant’s elevation from the practice squad may indicate that he is likely to inherit some of the reps normally allotted to Dugger. The veteran safety was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason but was released prior to the start of the season. Throughout his four seasons in the NFL, the 6’0” 200-pound defensive back has played in 67 games with 33 starts and has accumulated 264 total tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, 17 passes-defensed and 11 special teams tackles.
The Patriots may also turn to second-year defensive back Dell Pettus, perhaps the more-likely choice to receive Dugger’s reps. Pettus has logged 10 total tackles, one forced fumble and one run-stuff in reserve duty this season.
BROWNS INACTIVES:
QB Shedeur Sanders
CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
S Damontae Kazee
RB Raheim Sanders
G Zack Zinter
T Cornelius Lucas
DT Adin Huntington
