Cowboys Going With Prescott Over Romo

Tony Romo will suit up for the Cowboys next week for the first time this season, but the longtime starter will do so as the backup, Jerry Jones said Sunday night (via Todd Archer of ESPN.com).

Dak Prescott will start in Week 11 for the Cowboys against the Ravens, with the owner pointing out the obvious after the rookie led Dallas to its eighth straight victory on Sunday.

We’re going to let this decision in this case make itself,” Jones said. “Dak’s got a hot hand, and we’re going to go with it. It’s not hard at all,” he added. “Tony would make the same decision. That’s what you do.”

These updates and non-updates have become commonplace in the NFL news cycle over the past few weeks, with the 36-year-old Romo nearly ready to return to action after suffering a severe back injury in the preseason. Jones previously said the team was going to ride the hot hand, and with the Cowboys having won eight straight regular-season games for the first time since their 1977 Super Bowl championship season, Prescott has it. The Mississippi State product completed 22-of-32 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 35-30 win over the Steelers.

Sunday represented Prescott’s first 300-yard passing game as a pro, and although Ezekiel Elliott again played the lead role for Dallas, its fourth-round rookie proved capable in a big spot.

We heard earlier today Romo was going to serve as the backup going forward, and the Pro Bowl passer has “taken it hard.” While probably a more reliable passer at this point in the quarterbacks’ respective careers, Romo has become a major injury risk in his mid-30s, having missed 21 of the Cowboys’ past 25 games. The organization’s decision obviously doesn’t make the Cowboys’ 10-year starter a full-time backup, but it certainly gives Prescott the upper hand.

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