NFC Notes: Cowboys, Saints, Washington

Cowboys

After an excellent start to the season, the Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott have had a rougher go of things since his brief absence with a calf injury. Cowboys OC Kellen Moore defended Prescott while acknowledging Dallas needed to improve. 

“He’s done a nice job, he continues to play good football,” Moore said via the Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Obviously, hey, November wasn’t anyone’s best football in the world. I got to do a better job with these weeks. I feel like we’re right where we want to be as far as having a great opportunity ahead of ourselves.”

Moore added with most of their divisional games and presumably the playoffs still in front of them, it doesn’t matter if they struggled as long as they turn things around and play their best football when it counts. 

“It’s an NFL season, there’s going to be highs, there’s going to be lows,” Moore said. “You go through these dips. It’s a long, long season. I think our guys understand that. You’re not going to go smooth sailing for however many weeks we’ve gone, 13 straight. There’s going to be a few ups and downs. I feel great with where we’re at, kind of getting those guys back into the groove. I think the importance of just having some continuity, practice together, spend time together. I think we got a great opportunity to get this thing going in a special way in December.”

• Cowboys’ HC Mike McCarthy spoke to the media after the game about RB Ezekiel Elliott’s usage against Washington: “That was me being conservative. I saw him take the shot right to the knee. …He was fine. That was more me being cautious.” (Michael Gehlken)

Saints

• Saints’ HC Sean Payton was unsure how much QB Taysom Hill’s finger injury attributed to his fumbles: “He threw it well. There’s always a little bit of an adventure with him that we’ll keep working on.” (Mike Triplett)

Washington

• Washington HC Ron Rivera said he thought the Cowboys defender went low on QB Taylor Heinicke which led to his knee injury. (John Keim)
• Rivera said the knee doesn’t look that bad, adding that the team is awaiting results. (Rhiannon Walker)
• Heinicke said of his knee: “The knee is fine; it was a little scary at first but it was really my throwing elbow that got me in the first half on a throw. I didn’t feel right ever since. I think the knee should be fine; I should be ready this week.” (John Keim)

• Washington DE Jonathan Allen made changes to his offseason program to improve his consistency, including working on his diet, sleep habits, and recovery: “You can never get complacent in this league.” (Nicki Jhabvala)