NEWSLETTER
Every team deals with injuries, but quarterback injuries are game-changers. And in some cases, season-changers.
So when Mac Jones and Dak Prescott were dealing with injuries earlier in the year, the timetables for their respective returns were on our minds. As fate would have it, the schedule was lining up for the Bears to potentially face back-to-back opponents without their starting quarterbacks. And even though the Cowboys and Patriots are well-rounded teams beyond the quarterback, being without QB1 tends to level the playing field. But instead, it sounds like Jones *AND* Prescott will be back in action in time to square off against the Bears over the next two weeks.
First, there is an expectation that Jones will be healthy enough to suit up for the Pats’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Bears:
Jones hasn’t played since Week 3 against the Ravens. An ankle injury has kept the 2021 first-round pick out of the lineup, but it’s not as if New England has been lost with Jones on the sidelines. After losing an overtime thriller against the Packers, the Pats have won back-to-back games thanks in part to the efforts of Bailey Zappe — who began this season as New England’s QB3 behind Jones and Brian Hoyer. I don’t *THINK* there is a QB controversy with the Patriots, but I know better than to put it past Bill Belichick to turn to a fourth-round rookie from Western Kentucky into an unexpectedly awesome quarterback. I mean, we saw what he did with that sixth-round Michigan QB who couldn’t beat out Drew Henson, right?
In the end, the sense is that Jones will be back under center a week from tonight. And if that’s the case, it’ll set up a battle of Jones vs. Justin Fields in a showdown of two first-round quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL Draft class. Fields already has a win over Trey Lance on his record. So … why not go snag another?
As for Dak, his return to the lineup appears to line up with the Bears’ trip to Texas:
I suppose Prescott getting medical clearance could put him back in action as soon as this week against the Detroit Lions. But a more realistic timetable for return is in two weeks against the Bears. Oh, joy. Everyone is getting healthy just in time to face Chicago’s football team.
On the one hand, it’s a tough break for Bears defenders to get opposing offenses returning to full strength on consecutive weeks. But on the other hand, the best defenders see this news as a challenge they are willing to take head on. And, frankly, I’m all about beating teams at full strength any way. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Go get ’em, gang.
