The Dallas Cowboys are off and running in the 2024 season and fans could not have asked for a better start. Mike Zimmer's defense put in a show-stopping performance and suffocated Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, while Dak Prescott and Co. did enough on offense to coast to victory.
In the midst of the beatdown though, the Cowboys were given a scare when Jake Ferguson suffered an awkward-looking injury in the second half. Ferguson's leg got tangled underneath a Browns defender and he came up clutching his knee.
Ferguson was seen writhing in pain before hobbling off the field and getting escorted to the locker room for further testing. Ferguson was able to walk to the locker room under his own power, but had a noticeable limp. Though the details of Ferguson's injury were unknown, it served as a dark cloud over an otherwise resounding afternoon for Dallas.
Prescott caught up with Ferguson after the game and the QB provided an encouraging update during his media availability.
Cowboys' Dak Prescott adamant that Jake Ferguson avoided serious injury
"I think we’ve dodged a big one," said Prescott, via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "Just talking to him, he gave me a lot of confidence. He gave me good news."
It seems that Ferguson's message to Prescott was accurate. Shortly thereafter, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport revealed that the Pro Bowler's X-Rays came back negative and he is not believed to have suffered a torn ACL. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow that will reveal the full extent of the injury.
Ferguson isn't out of the water just yet, but it is a huge sigh of relief that he has (seemingly) avoided an ACL injury. That is always the initial fear when a knee is involved and the Cowboys are obviously no stranger to players suffering ACL tears.
Even if he misses time, Dallas has avoided the worse-case scenario. Ferguson was adamant that he could have played through the injury. Per Patrick Walker of the team's official website, there was no brace on Ferg's knee and he did not need crutches. Nothing but an ice pack was spotted. All promising signs.
Ferguson was a non-factor on Sunday. He caught three passes for 15 yards on five targets. However, no Cowboys pass-catcher other than CeeDee Lamb finished with more than 60 receiving yards. The offense put things in cruise control after jumping out to a 27-3 lead.
Make no mistake: The 2022 fourth-round pick is a huge part of the offense. He erupted last season with 71 catches for 761 receiving yards and five touchdowns. It can be argued he's Prescott's second-favorite target behind Lamb.
We'll know the full details of Ferguson's injury on Monday, but the Cowboys could not have asked for better news given how scary the injury looked in real time.
