The Cowboys season has been up and down so far – and in Week 6, it was very “down.”

Even though Dallas won its last two games, not many were convinced it was the real game. They were proven right on Sunday when the Cowboys fell 47-9 at home to the Lions, increasing calls for a firing of head coach Mike McCarthy and other personnel changes.

The 38-point win at AT&T Stadium was by far the team’s worst loss of the season. Even quarterback Dak Prescott only managed three field goals in 60 minutes and was far from being able to play in his game on Sunday.

Here’s everything you need to know about whether the Cowboys benched Prescott and why Dallas retired its star quarterback in the fourth quarter of the team’s blowout loss to Detroit.

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Did the Cowboys bench Dak Prescott against the Lions?

After the quarterback threw his second interception of the game in the third quarter, leading to another Lions touchdown, it wasn’t long before Prescott headed to the sideline to watch the rest of the game. Coming in as backup was Cooper Rush along with the rest of Dallas’ second-team offense.

So even though Prescott has been taken out of the game, there’s no fear of him being benched the next time the Cowboys take the field in Week 8. He was simply taken out of that game early because the Cowboys had no chance of a comeback and didn’t want to risk injury to his highly paid QB.

Prescott was anemic from the start against Detroit. He threw 17 completions on 33 attempts for 178 yards before exiting, taking four sacks and one carry for one yard. This is all in addition to his two picks, both of which resulted in goals for Detroit.

The quarterback’s second interception was likely the catalyst for McCarthy to pull him. At the 31, Prescott tried to find Jalen Tolbert deep up the middle, but his pass flew over the receiver’s head. Lions defensive lineman Brian Burns made the catch, returning the ball inside the 5-yard line.

This is ✌️ for Brian Branch!#DETvsDAL | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/GWVyRiHYDg

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 13, 2024

From there, Detroit quickly scored with a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, extending the lead to 38. With a rating of 42.2, Prescott had his worst game of the season after a win over Pittsburgh in which he threw for just over 350 yards and two touchdowns.

The lack of consistency on both sides of the ball causes problems for McCarthy & Co., and Prescott is no exception. Although the team is .500, two of its three wins have come by a margin of one point, and two of its losses have been forfeits.