Playoff berth in hand, one could reasonably expect the Dallas Cowboys to rest their starters ahead of the playoffs, especially if the team earns the No. 1 seed.
Or not.
From the sounds of it, Jerry Jones doesn’t see the team resting starters in any scenario.
Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recorded Jones’ thoughts:
Jerry Jones says on @1053thefan that business as usual after Cowboys clinch. Don't plan on resting starters.
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) December 6, 2016
While it would be devastating for the Cowboys to go out and suffer a key injury in a meaningless game and hurt the team’s chances at a title, this seems like an understandable risk.
After all, the Cowboys need to get rookie quarterback Dak Prescott as many reps as possible. He’s been great, but the decision to keep Tony Romo on the bench stemmed from not wanting to disrupt Prescott. Ruining his rhythm ahead of the playoffs doesn’t make any sense.
At most, the Cowboys might reduce the workload on rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, who has already carried the ball 263 times. It’s a hefty workload, but taking him out of rhythm wouldn’t make a ton of sense either.
The surprising Cowboys got here by doing what they continue to do right now. It sounds like the coaching staff understands disrupting anything at all could jeopardize everything. So sorry, NFL, the Cowboys won’t throw a potential wrench in their own plans.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
