Dallas City News

The Cowboys were already approaching the point of no return for the 2024 season but now that Dak Prescott is likely to miss a large block of time, the season is effectively over. Jerry Jones insists that Prescott may still return this year, but the team will place him on the injured reserve at some point. When he could return is an unknown.

What we know for certain is that Cooper Rush will start this week against the Eagles, who are favored to win by seven points. Only the Chiefs, who host the Broncos, have as large of a point spread this week. Odds seem good that the Cowboys fall to 3-6 before hosting the Texans and, after that, the division-leading Commanders.

This prompts a very good question: why not just tank? Prescott will miss at least these next four games, and what’s the point in bringing him back if the team is sitting at 3-9? The front office’s explanation of trading for Jonathan Mingo already hints at this mindset, but should the team fully embrace the tank? And, if so, how should they do it? Our own Tom Ryle and David Howman discuss.

Tom: Count me in on team tank. Barring a near superhuman performance from Rush, and a lot better play from just about everyone else still healthy enough to take the field, this is as you said a lost cause. I’d even say to just name Trey Lance the starter now. The team needs to see what they have in him, because Prescott just cannot seem to stay healthy. They need to come up with a plan for the future at quarterback, and putting Lance out there to both evaluate and develop would let them know where they stand.

The biggest problem with that is getting Mike McCarthy to go along. That is highly questionable unless he has given up on keeping his job. We all know he is gone, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to give up the fight. It would take a direct order from Jerry Jones. That to me is not nearly as unlikely as McCarthy willingly going in the tank.

David: I agree that McCarthy is never going to willingly accept the role of Tank Commander. Even if Jerry directly instructed him to do so, I believe he’d resign before doing that.

That said, they don’t need McCarthy to be in on it. The Cowboys are already doing a good enough job of tanking as is, and keeping Rush under center helps that the most. This defense is going to get better with Micah Parsons coming back, but he’s not going to fix the run defense or keep Trevon Diggs from forgetting how to play man coverage. And the offense already struggled to score in the red zone, and I don’t think Rush fixes that.

Trey Lance probably doesn’t either, but he’s got the athletic upside to where you might get lucky one of these days and get a supernova performance from him. With Rush, we know what we’re getting, and that’s a team that’s good enough to back up the claim that we’re still trying while still ensuring a top 10 draft pick.

Tom: Why just go for a top 10? With Lance, the odds of being top 5 or maybe better increase.

Whether Jerry wants to admit it or not, next year is going to be a rebuild. With him at the helm of personnel decisions, it is an open question whether they can successfully do that, but at least they can improve their draft capital.

Lance is still raw. He needs to be on the field to find out if there is anything there to develop. Is he the future QB2, could he one day become a starter, or is he just another player that will have to be jettisoned? The only way to try and find out is to get him snaps. I think that at one point they will start him, but I don’t want to see them wait until the last game or two of the season.

At some point the Cowboys are going to be eliminated from playoff contention based on the way things are going. With the Eagles, Texans, and Commanders coming up, that is probably going to be soon. I worry that they will still think they have something to play for when the Giants roll around, but that is a great situation to try Lance if they haven’t bowed to the inevitable before then. If he is totally incompetent, they can still go back to Rush, but if Lance shows any promise at all, use him and see what you have.

David: We already got to see Lance in the preseason, and it wasn’t all that pretty. I don’t really need to see more of him. He’s extremely raw, and the areas that need the most improvement – footwork, pocket discipline, to name a few – aren’t things that get solved with more playing time, and especially not behind this offensive line. With Lance’s contract up at the end of the year, the only thing you gain from playing him (when it comes to long term planning, that is) is convincing some other team to pay him in free agency.

Besides, Prescott is under contract through 2028. The Cowboys aren’t in need of a plan for the future under center, and especially not in regards to Lance. Suppose they were to keep Lance around next year. Barring some disastrous outcome for Prescott, Lance isn’t seeing the field until he’s 29 years old. That’s not exactly a solid succession plan. Prescott is the quarterback of this team, so I’m not moved by any argument about planning for the future.

Rush is a solid backup but he’s definitely limited in what he can do, and this supporting cast isn’t exactly making things easier for their quarterback. If the goal is to get a top draft pick, Rush gives you the best chance at doing that.

Tom: I guess we have to disagree on this one. Frankly, with the state of the offensive line, I would rather see Lance out there. The team may want to keep Rush around if Lance doesn’t work out, and it might be worth protecting him.

However, the players probably are not in a mood to just throw in the towel just yet. That is also important. I may want to see Lance getting more work, but I will admit your argument will probably carry the day.