Since Dak Prescott was injured in the season opener, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has remained optimistic that his quarterback would return sooner than originally estimated.

He now believes Prescott will be back on the field this Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

"Well, let's just say this: He's determined to [play]," Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "I think he's, from my perspective, from what I can know and see, I think he's going to get there. We feel like that physically, he's at a position that the risk/reward justifies him being out there in terms of any reoccurrence of the injury."

Prescott was originally expected to be sidelined between six-and-eight weeks after suffering a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11.

He began throwing again last week and coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that Prescott would be medically cleared to return to practice Wednesday.

"He’s going to be given every opportunity this week to go play," Jones said. "He looks ready to go."

Jones said Prescott had a "very impressive" throwing session prior to Sunday’s 26-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and afterwards said he was planning to return in Week 7.

Sunday’s defeat marked Dallas’ only setback since the season opener.

Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to four consecutive wins in place of Prescott, completing 61.9 per cent of his passes for 775 yards for an average of 7.4 yards per attempt with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 97.1 passer rating.

He looked a bit shaky this past weekend, however, completing 47.4 per cent of his 38 attempts for 181 yards and an average of 4.8 yards per pass with a TD throw and three picks for a 37.3 rating.

Prescott, however, also struggled in Week 1, completing 48.3 per cent of his 29 attempts for 134 yards and an average of 4.6 yards per throw with one interception and a 47.2 rating.

Jalen Hurts was "unfazed" and "in complete control" against the Dallas Cowboys as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 6-0 start, said coach Nick Sirianni.

Dual-threat Eagles quarterback Hurts threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 27 yards to help protect the last remaining unbeaten record in this NFL season on Sunday.

A meeting with NFC East rivals the Cowboys represented the Eagles' biggest test so far, but they ran out 26-17 winners as Hurts' TD pass to DeVonta Smith early in the fourth quarter ensured there would be no nervy finish.

Sirianni would not have anticipated his QB having any problems regardless.

The Eagles coach, in his second year with the team, is in awe of Hurts' demeanour – that of "great quarterbacks", Sirianni said.

Hurts now has 1,514 passing yards and 293 rushing yards on the year, becoming the first QB in NFL history to surpass 1,500 passing yards and 250 rushing yards while going undefeated over any six-game span.

"The guy's not fazed by things," Sirianni said. "He's got a great demeanour that you see in great quarterbacks.

"There are so many big games in the NFL. It's a huge game, right? Sunday Night Football, division rival, both at the top of the division, and he's unfazed by things.

"That's what I love about him. He just goes and plays the next play – and he made a big play on third-and-four when we didn't have anybody open [on the drive from which Smith scored].

"He made a play with his legs, he controlled the clock, he was in complete control. It was Quarterback 101 by Jalen."

The Eagles are one win away from their best ever start to a season going into a bye, but the first seven weeks of 2021 were very different.

Philly were 2-5 heading into Halloween, before a 6-2 end to the campaign secured a playoff place and set the stage for this sublime stretch.

"I think being 2-5 did a lot for this team," Sirianni added. "Not everybody was involved with that 2-5, I get it, but a big part of the meat and potatoes of this team was involved in that, and they just kept coming to work.

"All we wanted to do was improve daily and get better and get better and get better. You do that by practising harder.

"The best teams that I've been on have the common denominator that they practise hard, they walk-through hard, they meet hard; then you get this trajectory of where you're building and building and building."

The Eagles are not done building, though, with Sirianni considering this a key point in the season.

"Teams are either coming together or they're not and this team is coming together, and they fight each week," he said.

"The motivation of not letting your team-mate down – coach to player, player to coach, player to player, coach to coach – that's just love, right? There is no greater motivation than that.

"This is a close team, and we're going to keep working on getting closer and keep working on getting better."

Dak Prescott is planning to return to the Dallas Cowboys team against the Detroit Lions in Week 7 and is "happy as hell" with the job the team have done in his absence.

Quarterback Prescott was speaking after Sunday's defeat to NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, who improved to a stunning 6-0 with their 26-17 success.

But the Cowboys are still a highly competitive 4-2, despite being without Prescott since the fourth quarter of their only other defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.

"That's my plan," he said of facing the Lions. "Obviously got to see the doc, but that's my plan.

"I plan on going into this week and trying to get my full week of practice."

Cooper Rush has deputised at QB, although he has Dallas ranking down in 27th in total offense (300.8 yards per game). In 2021, when Prescott started 16 of 17 games, the Cowboys ranked first (407.0).

That room for improvement gives the Cowboys cause for optimism, though. The defense has kept them in contention, ranking eighth (304.2) in a significant improvement on last year (19th – 351.0).

"I never really had any doubt that the team wouldn't do what they just did," Prescott added. "Obviously, you all know me, very optimistic.

"I've got a lot of pride in this team, know the guys that are on this team, the defense, know what Cooper is capable of.

"So, I'm obviously disappointed I couldn't be with the guys along the past five weeks but excited to move forward and happy as hell with the position that we're in, and we can get rolling."

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is certainly looking forward to having his QB back, although he has remained on course for a second straight 1,000-yard season with Rush under center, averaging 68.2 per game.

"The sky's the limit," Lamb said. "The offense is very good, and everyone knows this. When we get [Prescott] back, we're going to show everybody."

The Philadelphia Eagles withstood the Dallas Cowboys' second-half charge to maintain their undefeated run to start the season with 26-17 victory at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

The Eagles raced away to a 20-0 lead after 20 second-quarter points, before the Cowboys stormed back within three points when Cooper Rush found Jake Ferguson for a fourth-quarter TD.

But Jalen Hurts, who completed 15 of 25 attempts for 255 yards and rushed 27 yards on nine carries, added his second touchdown pass of the game for DeVonta Smith as the Eagles moved to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2004.

Cowboys QB Rush, starting for the injured Dak Prescott for the fifth straight game, threw three picks having previously gone 158 pass attempts without an interception. Rush finished making 18-of-38 for 181 yards with the one TD pass as the Cowboys moved to 4-2.

After a scoreless first quarter, Miles Sanders scored the Eagles' 13th rushing touchdown of the season, the most for a team league-wide through six games since 2005. Sanders finished the game with 18 carries for 71 yards.

From the next play, C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepted Rush's pass, commencing the Eagles' drive for Hurts to lay off to A.J. Brown who crossed into the endzone after a nice step.

KaVontae Turpin's explosive kickoff run helped kicker Brett Maher get the Cowboys on the board prior to half-time, before Rush found Ferguson, allowing Ezekiel Elliott to score from the next play, capping a nine-play 79-yard drive.

The Cowboys had the momentum when Dante Fowler Jr sacked Hurts, with Rush finding Ferguson for a career-first TD in the last quarter to make it 20-17. But Hurts showed composure to lead a 13-play drive resulting in Smith's TD, before Gardner-Johnson picked another Rush pass intended for Ceedee Lamb.

With the Washington Commanders beating the Chicago Bears on Thursday, the NFC East improved to a league-leading 15-6 on the year.

The 2-4 Commanders are joined by three of the NFL's six teams with four wins or more, including the 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles – the only remaining unbeaten outfit.

Pre-season excitement centred on the AFC West and its potential to dominate the NFL, but the NFC East has instead surprisingly come to the fore, tallying five more wins through five weeks.

Of the six defeats for its four teams, three have been against division rivals.

There is therefore great anticipation for the fourth such matchup of the season on Sunday, when the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field.

With the Kansas City Chiefs also facing the Buffalo Bills, there is a compelling case to be made for fans this week getting to watch games between the best two teams in the NFC and the best two teams in the AFC.

Of course, the neutral may prefer to focus on the AFC tussle, where two of the leading quarterbacks in the sport will renew a rivalry last seen in their playoff epic.

But the supporting casts of the Eagles and the Cowboys might make them equally credible candidates as the league's best team come Monday.

It is certainly difficult to argue against the Eagles' start.

Their 5-0 record is their best since kicking off 7-0 in 2004; in fact, that was the last time any NFC East team won more than five games straight at the start of the year. The Eagles have already matched the 2009 New York Giants – the previous most recent example of a 5-0 start.

Outside the NFC East, such streaks have been far more commonplace. There has been at least one 5-0 team in every season since 2015, when there were six, including Super Bowl 50 champions the Denver Broncos.

That the 2015 Broncos were the last team to start 5-0 and then win the title suggests these stretches do not always mean a great deal in the long term, however.

Perhaps then the Eagles would be better served getting the first defeat out the way now, although that would mean losing control of this suddenly fiercely competitive division.

Either way, the Cowboys represent a far more serious threat than their opponents through Week 5.

The Eagles so far rank second in total offense – their 419.8 net yards per game topping the 2021 Cowboys' league-leading 407.0 – but have played defenses ranking 31st, 24th, 19th, ninth and 18th. The Dallas defense ranks seventh, and they have held each of their first five opponents to under 20 points for the first time since 1972.

As Stats Perform's efficiency versus expected model (EVE) ranks the Eagles' offense fourth and the Cowboys' defense fourth, it is clear where this game will be won and lost.

Previously, the Cowboys have had the tools to outgun their NFC East rivals. They have won their last three games against the Eagles by 20, 20 and 25 points – only once before (also versus the Eagles in the 1960s) winning four in a row by 20-plus points against any one team.

This time, with quarterback Dak Prescott still out, the Cowboys will instead focus on capitalising on the Eagles' own injury issues on their offensive line, where there are concerns around center Jason Kelce, tackle Jordan Mailata and guards Landon Dickerson and Isaac Seumalo.

Another big game from six-sack, second-year sensation Micah Parsons could be pivotal.

If the Eagles can negotiate that threat, though, a two-game lead even in this division might be enough to start planning for the playoffs now, given their schedule.

After the Cowboys, the Eagles have a bye week before playing teams ranking 32nd, 30th, 27th, 11th, 16th, 31st, 19th and 24th by overall EVE ahead of facing Dallas again in Week 16.

The NFC East's record winning start belongs to the 1991 Washington team, and the Eagles for now remain a way off the 11-0 sequence that preceded a Super Bowl triumph in a period of domination for this division.

But victory against the Cowboys would at least mean clearing the most significant hurdle in this young team's path.

The Dallas Cowboys have listed quarterback Dak Prescott as questionable for Sunday's meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Prescott has not featured since Week 1 due to a thumb injury, and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told the press earlier this week that the 29-year-old was unlikely to be fit to return in Week 6.

However, Dallas have not yet ruled their QB out of contention, instead listing Prescott as questionable for the game in Philadelphia.

Cooper Rush, though, is still expected to start, with the stand-in QB having led the Cowboys to four successive wins in Prescott's absence.

Rush is the third QB in NFL history, since statistics were first tracked in 1950, to win on his first five career starts while throwing no more than one interception over that span, after Kyle Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

The Cowboys head into the game with recent history on their side, having won their past three meetings with the Eagles by 20, 20 and 25 points. The last time any NFL team had four straight 20-point wins against an opponent was the Colts against the Jaguars from 2013-14.

Philadelphia are the NFL's only unbeaten team, however, and are the first side in league history to win their opening five games of a season while averaging 400+ yards of offense and not losing a single fumble.

The NFL season is well under way, with Week 6 set to mark the point where over a third of the regular season has been played.

Playoff hopes are starting to rise and crucial games are on the horizon, with the Minnesota Vikings looking to provide a further boost against a Miami Dolphins side that have lost their rhythm after a perfect start.

Elsewhere, revenge is on the cards for the Buffalo Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have shattered their dreams in back-to-back seasons, while there is plenty on the line in the NFC East contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.

With a wealth of entertainment on offer, Stats Perform has crunched the Opta data to preview this weekend's contests.

Minnesota Vikings (4-1) @ Miami Dolphins (3-2)

After starting the season 3-0, the Dolphins have suffered back-to-back defeats by 12 and 23 points respectively, becoming only the second team in the Super Bowl era to start a campaign 3-0 but then lose their next two games by at least a dozen points – the other being the 1994 Chiefs.

However, the Dolphins have won their last three games against NFC teams by double-digit scores, marking the first time they have had such a streak against the NFC since a five-game stint from 1978 to 1979.

With quarterback duo Tua Tagovailoa not expected to return this weekend and Terry Bridgewater out due to concussion, rookie Skylar Thompson looks set to make his first career start against the Vikings and will need help from Tyreek Hill, who is the only player in NFL history with at least 7,000 receiving yards, 7,000 rushing yards and 700 punt return yards in his career.

The Dolphins' clash with the Vikings could go down right to the wire, with Minnesota having trailed with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and come back to win in each of their last three matches for the first time in their franchise history, as well as being the first time any team has done so since the Lions in 2014.

The only team in NFL history to have such a comeback in four straight games was the Denver Broncos in 2011, led by quarterback Tim Tebow.

Buffalo Bills (4-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)

The Chiefs have ended the Bills' season in each of the last two campaigns, including a 42-36 overtime win in the divisional round in 2021. In the last eight meetings, including the post season, Kansas City are 6-2, but one of those losses came at home in Week 5 last season.

Patrick Mahomes continues to be the leading man for the Chiefs, with the 30-29 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last week marking the 40th time the Chiefs have had a game with at least 30 points since he became full-time starter in 2018. The only other team with more than 30 such games is the New Orleans Saints (35).

A tough test against the Bills defense awaits, however, with Buffalo allowing just three broken tackles this season, only the Washington Commanders having fewer (2). In contrast, the Chiefs' defense has allowed 12 broken tackles, only Houston and Las Vegas (both 15) having more.

Offensively, the Bills head to Kansas City on the back of a 38-3 triumph against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, marking their second win by at least 34 points this season, having beaten the Titans 41-7 in Week 2. Only in 1992 and 2021 have they had multiple such wins in a season (twice in each).

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (5-0)

For the first time, the NFC East rivals will face off with both teams entering the contest on the back of a single-season winning streak of at least four games, and the Cowboys have a historical edge after three consecutive wins by a margin of 20 or more points.

The Cowboys have held each of their five opponents so far this season to 20 points or under for the first time since 1972, while only two teams in the last 10 years have done so in six straight games to start a season – the 2013 Chiefs (9) and 2019 New England Patriots (8).

Keeping Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense at bay will be a stern test though, with Hurts setting an NFL record by becoming the first QB to have a five-start span, at any point, where he passed for 250+ yards per game, rushed for 50+ yards per game, rushed for 5+ touchdowns and went undefeated.

From the first five games of the season, the Eagles have averaged 400+ yards of offense and have not lost a single fumble during that span.

Elsewhere…

The Los Angeles Rams host the Carolina Panthers on the back of a 22-10 home defeat to the Cowboys in Week 5, with all three of their losses this season seeing the Rams score 10 or fewer points and lose by at least 10 points. From 2017-2021, they only had five such games.

The Arizona Cardinals head to the Emerald City boasting a strong record against the Seattle Seahawks, sitting 6-3 in the last nine road games. That is tied for the best record by any teams with at least two games played in Seattle since 2013 (Atlanta and New Orleans both 2-1).

The Cleveland Browns face the Patriots, having led at the start of the fourth quarter in all five games so far this season. However, they sit 2-3 (.400) in comparison to the rest of the NFL, which combines for 51-15-1 (.769).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is tied with Charlie Conerly for most career passing touchdowns against the Steelers (29 each), who he faces in Week 6. With one more, the Steelers would become the fifth team Brady has thrown at least 30 TD's against – joining the Colts, Jets, Dolphins and Bills.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is unlikely to make his return following thumb surgery against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to coach Mike McCarthy.

Prescott suffered a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' season-opening 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month.

Cooper Rush has deputised ably since then, leading the team on a four-game winning streak, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently said he was unlikely to keep the starting spot when Prescott returns to fitness.

Prescott was set to throw for the first time since suffering his injury following Wednesday's practice, but McCarthy is planning to start Rush against the NFL's only unbeaten team on Sunday.

"We are preparing for Cooper to start against the Eagles," McCarthy told reporters.

"I think we're still in the medical rehab phase. So once he [Prescott] clears this phase and he's fully activated, then I think that's when we have our conversation.

"You've got to trust the medical process. This is a 17-game season. That was my immediate response. I know Dak didn't want to hear it, but you've got to make sure that he's right for the long haul, too.

"So I'm not saying we're being conservative because that doesn't line up with him, with the way he approaches preparing to play. But, yeah, this really is following the medical timeline."

McCarthy also stated his belief the team's form had not been significantly altered by their change of quarterback after Week 1.

"He [Prescott] is doing all the things you can possibly do and more to get ready," McCarthy added. "But I don't think it would've changed, from my view."

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford needs help, according to head coach Sean McVay.

The Super Bowl LVI champions suffered their third loss of the season, with Stafford and the offense struggling again in a 22-10 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The Rams have managed only one touchdown in their past nine quarters, with Stafford finding wide receiver Cooper Kupp in a 75-yard catch and run against the Cowboys.

Stafford has also been left banged up with the Rams' offensive line cursed by injuries, allowing five sacks on Sunday, for a total of 21 for the season. The QB was also pressured 20 times by the Cowboys defense, the equal second most in a game for Stafford's career.

"I love Matthew Stafford," McVay told reporters. "He is competing and doing everything in his power for this team. He needs some help. We've got to be able to help him."

McVay had no quick fixes for his side's offensive line issues, while he continued to back Stafford.

"I think he's doing everything he can," he said. "I think he needs more help. Guys got to play better around him.

"We've got to be able to help him be able to give himself a chance to sit on his back foot, just past even a hitch on some things.

"I'll ride with that guy to the end of time. And he's continuing to do everything in his power to try to help our team move the football, score points and we've got to be able to help him out more."

Stafford completed 28 of 42 attempts for 308 yards with one interception against the Cowboys, showing that he has been able to play through pain after copping so many hits.

"I feel OK," Stafford said. "It's part of the game."

"We've got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone. Got to do a better job sustaining some drives, giving ourselves some more manageable situations and find a way to get more points."

The Dallas Cowboys have now won four games in a row with backup quarterback Cooper Rush after defeating the Los Angeles Rams 22-10 away from home on Sunday.

Rush, who now owns a 5-0 record as a starter as he continues to fill-in for the injured Dak Prescott, was not burdened with a large responsibility against the Rams as it was the running backs and defense doing the heavy-lifting.

Cowboys pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence got things started with a fumble recovery for a touchdown after just 93 seconds, and the only other touchdown they scored came from a 57-yard Tony Pollard run in the second quarter.

The Dallas defense made life miserable for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, sacking him five times, as well as snagging an interception and recovering two forced fumbles. Second-year star Micah Parsons led the way with two sacks, and Malik Hooker came up with the interception in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

Often considered a controversial aspect of the Cowboys offense, their two-pronged running back attack was the key to their success on the offensive end.

Highly paid Ezekiel Elliott was again given the larger workload, carrying 22 times for 78 yards, and he was once again outperformed by his backup, Pollard, who tallied 86 yards and a touchdown from just eight carries.

Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp was as reliable as ever for the Rams, catching seven passes for 125 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.

Eagles move to 5-0 after late kick fails to send it to overtime

The Philadelphia Eagles remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL after a 20-17 road win against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game with a 43-yard field goal in the dying seconds, but missed, allowing the Eagles to secure the win in regulation.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a clean game, completing 26 of 36 passes for 239 yards and no turnovers, and he was also his side's leading rusher with 15 carries for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Marquise Brown was on the end of Kyler Murray's only touchdown pass of the day, and adding insult to injury is the fact that starting running back James Conner (ribs) and third-stringer Darrel Williams (knee) both suffered injuries.

The Los Angeles Rams did not give Sean McVay much reason to be confident they can find their Super Bowl-winning form during their Monday defeat to the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco rode a dominant defensive performance to knock off the Rams 24-9, extending the 49ers' regular-season winning streak against their NFC West rivals to seven games.

Matthew Stafford failed to throw a touchdown pass having also drawn a blank in the Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It marked the fourth time in his career that Stafford had gone without a scoring throw in successive games.

Yet even with their offense misfiring, the Rams and head coach McVay have reason for hope heading into Sunday's clash with the Dallas Cowboys.

Since McVay took over in 2017, the Rams have gone 3-1 against the Cowboys, including a win in the Divisional Round of the playoffs at the end of the 2018 season.

Los Angeles' average margin of victory in those successes has been 16 points and, going against a backup quarterback in Cooper Rush, the Rams would appear to be a strong bet for a two-touchdown win in this matchup.

Yet Rush is proving himself a top-tier backup as Dak Prescott recovers from a thumb injury.

He has helped the Cowboys to three successive victories after they lost the season opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Having won his first start against the Minnesota Vikings last year, Rush is the first quarterback in Cowboys history to win his first four starts. The only other NFL players to do so since 2005 are Kyle Allen (5), Patrick Mahomes (6), Jimmy Garoppolo (7) and Trevor Siemian (4).

And Rush and the Cowboys may have a formula for making it five wins for their number two signal-caller.

The Rams' nine-point effort against the 49ers marked the second time they had failed to score more than 10 this season. They were held to 10 by the Buffalo Bills in the season curtain-raiser.

Los Angeles had only failed to surpass 10 points seven times in McVay's first five seasons as head coach and have not done so more than twice in one season since doing so nine times in 2016, the Rams' first year back in their Southern California home following the return from St. Louis.

In the Cowboys, however, the Rams are facing a defense that has the talent to match the destruction the 49ers produced against a banged-up offensive line that allowed Stafford to be sacked seven times and pressured on 21 dropbacks.

Heading into Week 5, the Cowboys ranked second in pass rush win rate and boast three pass rushers in Micah Parsons (4), Demarcus Lawrence (4) and Dorance Armstrong (3) who have combined for 10 sacks so far this season.

With the Rams proving incapable of protecting Stafford as they fell to 2-2 on the season in the loss to San Francisco, that trio has a chance to consistently disrupt the Rams' passing game and allow a Dallas offense that has committed just two giveaways this season to control the ball and the clock.

Should that happen at SoFi Stadium, the Cowboys will be in an excellent position to reduce the Rams' reasons for positivity by dealing another blow to their hopes of retaining the Lombardi Trophy.

Veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons.

His agents told NFL.com on Wednesday that Beasley was bringing an end to his career just two weeks after signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After going unsigned as a free agent this offseason, Beasley joined the Bucs on September 21 with the team hit by a rash of injuries at receiver. 

The 33-year-old played in two games but only contributed 17 yards on four receptions.

"He is ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons, and it's time to be a full-time dad and husband," Beasley's agent Justin Turner said.

Beasley had been coming off two productive seasons with the Buffalo Bills. 

After recording career highs of 82 receptions and 967 receiving yards in 2020, the Texas native matched that catch total last season while posting 693 yards.

Considered undersized by most scouts, the 5-foot-8, 174-pound Beasley went undrafted despite producing two 1,000-yard seasons in college at SMU. 

He made Dallas' roster in 2012 and spent his first seven seasons with the Cowboys before signing a four-year, $29million contract with the Bills in 2019.

Beasley finishes his career with 554 receptions, 5,726 yards and 34 touchdowns in 151 regular-season games.

He also played in 11 postseason games during his time with Dallas and Buffalo.

Dak Prescott cannot grip a football, according to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but as soon as he is healthy enough to play, Cooper Rush will be headed back to the bench – regardless of how many wins he has racked up.

Rush will reportedly make his fourth straight start since Prescott suffered a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.

Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that Prescott’s surgically repaired thumb is improving but he cannot grip a football “well enough to play.”

So that means Rush will get the call against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Cowboys have won all three games with Rush under center, and although just less than two weeks ago Jones said he would welcome a quarterback controversy between the two because that meant the team was winning, he walked back on that idea Tuesday.

Jones was asked when Prescott is deemed healthy, would the Cowboys stick with Rush if he continues to pile up victories.

"No. No. As I see it right today," Jones said.

The undrafted Rush has completed 55 of 89 passes (61.8 percent) for 673 yards while throwing four touchdowns and no interceptions in those three consecutive victories. 

With Sunday’s 25-10 win over the Washington Commanders, Rush became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first four career starts.

Jones admitted that he never thought the Cowboys would have beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Commanders in the last three weeks.

“No. No, I did not,” he said.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday that Prescott would need to put in an entire week of practice before he could play, and Jones remains hopeful he will be back practicing before long.

"I don't know that you could ask for better news technically, physically in how it's responding, how it's healing so to speak," Jones said.

"So all of those things are on go and I don't know that as we bid bye to each day if considering the injury, considering the location of the injury, I don't know that you could make any more progress.

"There's some things here about healing that again I often say only the man upstairs knows how that works, but he'll have a big week and he'll be hard on himself getting it ready to go."

Cooper Rush became the first quarterback in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to win his first four career starts on Sunday, earning praise from team owner Jerry Jones following a 25-10 victory over the Washington Commanders. 

Rush, however, could once again find himself backing up Dak Prescott next week with the two-time Pro Bowl selection getting closer to returning from a thumb injury. 

The Cowboys have won all three games with Rush under center after Prescott sustained a fractured right thumb in a season-opening 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11. 

The undrafted Rush has completed 55 of 89 passes (61.8 percent) for 673 yards while throwing four touchdowns and no interceptions in those three consecutive victories. 

"I can't say enough about his play," Jones said. "What it has possibly done for this team this season to give us a chance to sit here after these last three ball games and maybe have the opportunity we've got for the rest of the year. 

"It's amazing. It's far more than what I would've expected." 

Jones has said that Prescott will return as the starter once healthy, but he isn’t sure when that will be despite recent reports that it could happen next week when Dallas visits the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. 

"I can't give you anything there medically," Jones said after Sunday's win. "I don't think anyone knows how he's going to grip the ball but certainly, we feel a lot better the way Cooper is playing, the way our team is playing." 

Week 4 of the NFL season promises plenty of excitement following a blistering start to the 2022 season.

The season has so far been defined by close finishes. Through three weeks, there have been 18 games decided by three points or fewer this season, the most such games through the first three weeks of a season in NFL history. 

A packed crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will hope to see another tight game as the NFL returns to London with the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings facing off.

The Washington Commanders travel to face the Dallas Cowboys in a fierce rivalry and the Philadelphia Eagles will look to extend their winning streak against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With plenty more on the agenda, Stats Perform has used its data to preview this week's games.

Minnesota Vikings (1-2) @ New Orleans Saints (1-2)

A high-scoring affair should be on the cards in London, as the Vikings and Saints have put up 700 points (53.8 per game) over their last 13 regular season matchups dating back to 1995 – more than any other game with at least a dozen meetings.

The Vikings are in very capable hands with Kirk Cousins, who has a career passer rating of 126.7 against the Saints in the regular season, the highest by any QB against a single opponent in the Super Bowl era (minimum 125 attempts).

However, they face a Saints defense that has held opponents to fewer than 250 passing yards and one touchdown pass for nine straight games, a franchise record, while the only team in the last 10 years to enjoy a longer streak was the New England Patriots in 2019.

Chris Olave boasts 268 receiving yards in his first three career games but is yet to score a touchdown, a record which stands as the most since Charlie Wade's 315 yards without a TD in his first three games for the Chicago Bears in 1974.

Washington Commanders (1-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (2-1)

The Cowboys host the Commanders having won both matchups last season, including a 56-14 triumph in Week 14 that stands as the highest margin of victory for either team in the all-time series.

With six sacks in the Week 2 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals and five sacks last weekend against the New York Giants, the Cowboys have recorded five or more sacks in consecutive games for the first time since a four-game streak in November/December 2008.

That will be of particular concern to Carson Wentz, who was sacked a career-high nine times in the Commanders' home loss to the Eagles last week – the most of any QB for the franchise since John Beck was sacked 10 times by the Buffalo Bills in 2011.

Fourth-quarter offense has been a highlight for Washington, though, totalling 455 scrimmage yards (342 passing, 113 rushing) and standing third in the NFL for the most fourth-quarter yards in 2022 behind the Saints (541) and the Indianapolis Colts (456).

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

The only 3-0 side to play on Sunday, the Eagles have held the Jaguars to under 20 points in the last four matchups between the two sides stretching back to 2006, tied for the second-longest active such run for Philadelphia behind the six-game streak against the Jets.

In the past two weeks, the Eagles have kept their opponents to under 10 points (8 vs Washington, 7 vs Minnesota) and are the only NFL team this season to achieve the feat in consecutive games, while Philadelphia last went three in a row in that regard in 1980.

The Jaguars are 2-1 at the start of the season for the first time since 2018 and have scored 84 points, the third-most by the team in the opening three games of the season in franchise history (98 in 1997 and 89 in 2017).

Both teams rank in the top five in the NFL for total first downs this season, with the Eagles (73) third and the Jaguars (70) fifth.

Elsewhere…

The Los Angeles Chargers travel to face the Houston Texans having being held to just 26 yards on the ground against the Jaguars last week and have 177 rushing yards in the NFL this season, the fewest in three games in team history.

A total of 572 rushing yards this season places the Cleveland Browns as the NFL's best on the ground this season and they visit the Atlanta Falcons having amassed their highest total through their first three games of a campaign since 1963.

The Seattle Seahawks tackle the Lions boasting seven wins in the last eight matchups against Detroit dating back to 2003, the third-best record by an NFC team against a conference opponent over the past 20 seasons.

The Titans have won each of the last three games against the Colts, including a 34-31 win in overtime last season. A victory this weekend would make this Tennessee's outright longest winning streak against Indianapolis (also three straight wins between 1988 and 1992).