Dak Prescott is back. How much better can Cowboys offense be?

By David Helman
FOX Sports Dallas Cowboys Writer

Did anyone mark off on their bingo card that Dallas-Detroit would be one of this season's most-anticipated matchups? 

With no disrespect intended toward the Lions, it certainly wasn't before now. Nestled nicely into Sunday's early window of games, this is one of just five Cowboys games this season slated for a Noon CT kickoff.

That was all before Dak Prescott made his return from a thumb injury — which just for clarity's sake, he will officially do Sunday afternoon. As the Cowboys work through their practice week, their franchise quarterback is back from the thumb injury that knocked him out back in Week 1 and is doing everything they're asking of him.

"I did everything," Prescott said of Thursday's practice. "I wasn't limited by any means. There wasn't a pitch count."

That's wonderful news for the Cowboys. But it's also wonderful news for the rest of us, because we don't have to speculate anymore about timelines or health percentages or any other hypothetical scenarios. The team's daily practice report, detailing the injury status of each player at practice, lists Prescott as a full participant.

"I think if you watched practice or had that film, you would say, ‘Yeah, I could play today, I could play tomorrow," Prescott said. "But obviously, there's still preparation that needs to be done. This is just Thursday. We've got Friday, Saturday to make sure we're exactly where we need to be."

With that little detail out of the way, the conversation can turn toward what we expect things to look like when the Cowboys offense takes the field with its starting quarterback. It feels like a lifetime ago that Dallas was held to three points in that Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay — much of which Prescott played before the injury. 

For his part, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy didn't hesitate when asked about a quarterback returning from injury. "Rhythm and timing. That's the biggest thing," he said. "It's a challenge to grab that in this short a period of time, there's no question."

McCarthy's not going to give the game away in the press, but it's interesting to think about what the layoff will affect. Rhythm and timing, yes, but there's not much to be done about that besides trust in the skill of quarterback and receiver — not to mention the amount of time on task that be gained between Wednesday and Sunday. 

What about the game plan, though? McCarthy made special mention of the fact Detroit has had the past week off, giving the Lions a bigger opportunity to bring unscouted looks and tendency-breakers to this matchup. Conversely, the Cowboys are easing a different quarterback into their scheme, which the Lions have had extra time to study intently.

"We've got to be really conceptually sound on how we feel they're going to play against us and just be ready for the variations that come off of these concepts that they've majored in these first six weeks," McCarthy said.

It's also true that things look a bit more settled than they were when Prescott last played. Tyler Smith was making his first NFL start that night against the Buccaneers, but he has now had time to get comfortable playing left tackle. Michael Gallup has returned from his ACL rehab, while Noah Brown has stepped up to become a serviceable No. 3 receiver. 

Even with Dalton Schultz battling a knee injury, the Cowboys have seen young tight ends Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot develop into players who can contribute on game day.

"Got the young players great reps, great experience," Prescott said. "Have made some changes, have obviously had some guys come in at the O-Line, had to make some changes, then getting guys back, creating more depth on both sides of the ball, and yeah, just feeling comfortable and actually establishing an identity, in a sense."

Will that identity change at all with Prescott under center? The Cowboys offense admittedly lacked explosiveness through the air during Cooper Rush's five starts, but it was quite effective running the ball. It's remarkable to think Dallas averaged 128 yards on the ground in those five games, considering they never once topped 230 passing yards. 

There's no obvious need to reinvent the wheel. If anything, a fully healthy Prescott can bring added efficiency, not to mention some of that missing explosion. It's a credit to Rush that the Cowboys are preparing for Prescott's return with a 4-2 record, rather than something much worse. 

Now, it's on Prescott to show us how much better it can look moving forward. 

"It's exciting that we are in this position," Prescott said. "Now, I can come back, and we can keep rolling."

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter @davidhelman_.