Cowboys Bye Week Headlines: Tony Romo Return Pushed Back
By Shawn Lealos
The Dallas Cowboys went into their toughest game of the 2016 NFL season this past weekend as they traveled to play the Green Bay Packers. Not only did they win the game over the Packers with a rookie quarterback in Dak Prescott and rookie running back in Ezekiel Elliott, but they also did it in dominating fashion. Now, with their bye week coming up, the Cowboys have a very difficult decision to make.
The plan from the start of the season was to keep quarterback Tony Romo off the injured reserve list so he could return as soon as possible to help the Dallas Cowboys recover from a start to the season without him. Now that the Cowboys are 5-1 with rookie Dak Prescott at quarterback, many are having second thoughts about bringing Romo back after the bye as planned.
Tony Romo Remains Sidelined
The Tony Romo return was supposed to take place in the divisional game against the Philadelphia Eagles following their bye week. However, Dak Prescott has played great and has the Cowboys at 5-1 so there is a thought that the Cowboys don't want to disrupt the chemistry that the team has built up so far. Even Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman mentioned that Prescott shouldn't come out of the lineup after his start to the season, comparing him to Tom Brady taking over from Drew Bledsoe in New England.
According to Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, the Cowboys are not going to put Tony Romo back in until he is "a hundred thousand, million percent ready to go." The idea is that Dak Prescott will remain the starting quarterback when Dallas returns from the bye and Romo will end up a week-to-week decision.
Dez Bryant Recovering From Injury
Another big Dallas Cowboys star who has been missing time is wide receiver Dez Bryant. The Pro-Bowl receiver suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg and has missed the past few games with the injury. Bryant said before the Packers game that he wanted to return, but would do what was best for the Cowboys. However, Bryant said after the Packers game that he has healed up and he guarantees that he will be back for the Eagles game after the bye week.
Ezekiel Elliott Setting Rookie Records
Ezekiel Elliott was expected to play well in his rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys, but he has exceeded all expectations. Elliott is the first rookie in NFL history to run for over 130 yards in four consecutive games. He now leads the NFL in rushing with 703 yards and also has five touchdowns. He has run for the most yards of any rookie in NFL history after six games behind only Eric Dickerson, with 33 more yards than Adrian Peterson at this point in his career.
The NFL also honored Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott when their jerseys were sent to the NFL Hall of Fame. They were the first two rookie teammates in NFL history to throw for 1,000 yards and run for 500 yards in their rookie campaign. In the Packers game, Dak Prescott also broke Tom Brady's record for the most completions to start an NFL career without an interception. The Cowboys have two new faces for their franchise and the future looks bright.
