Ian Rapoport pinpoints potential game Dak Prescott may return to Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys' season is on the verge of collapse after Dak Prescott's MRI on his hamstring was worse than initially feared.

Prescott is expected to miss multiple weeks. A precise recovery timeline will be revealed once he receives a second opinion this week, but Dallas is considering putting their Pro Bowl quarterback on injured reserve.

The Cowboys announced that Cooper Rush will start Sunday against the Eagles. That tells us Jerry Jones isn't ready to give up on the season, regardless of what the team accomplishes before the 3 p.m. CT trade deadline.

In other words, Jones may be hoping Rush can keep the season alive so Prescott can return for a potential playoff push. That obviously depends on Prescott's recovery, but NFL insider Ian Rapoport gave us a good idea of when Prescott might take the field again.

Ian Rapoport identifies which games Cowboys QB Dak Prescott may return from injury

"He is expected to be out an extended period of time. If you look at the Cowboys' schedule, there's really nothing good there. He's going to miss the Eagles game, the Texans game, then in three weeks he has the Commanders and then the Giants really quick on Thanksgiving... There is a real chance he misses all four of those games. "

While Rapoport stopped short of circling Week 14 against the Bengals, he strongly intimated that matchup as Prescott's most likely return date. Rapoport mentioned the quick turnaround following Week 12, when the Cowboys host the Giants on Thanksgiving.

At that point, Prescott might as well go on IR.

That would knock him out the next four games, as Rapoport speculated: vs. the Eagles, vs. the Texans (Monday Night Football), at Washington and vs. New York on Thanksgiving. That brings the Week 14 clash vs. Cincinnati on Dec. 9 - another Monday Night Football vehicle - into focus.

In that scenario, Prescott would have over a month to rest and heal. Rapoport added that Dak is motivated to beat the speculated timeline. That is a dangerous game with soft-tissue injuries. The Cowboys may have to save Prescott from himself, which is what Mike McCarthy failed to do with CeeDee Lamb on Sunday against the Falcons.

Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that Prescott is likely headed to IR, meaning he won't return until Week 14 at the earliest. Depending on Dallas' record at that point, it might behoove them to shut down Prescott for the rest of the season.

Let's cross that bridge when we get there, though. In the meantime, Cowboys fans can circle the Week 14 matchup vs. the Bengals as Prescott's most likely return date.