Jerry Jones Says Tony Romo Won't Start Unless Dak Prescott Is Unavailable

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed Monday that Dak Prescott would remain the starting quarterback and the team won't turn to Tony Romo, even amid some struggles from the rookie.

"We've seen Dak have bad series, and we've seen him come back and right the ship," Jones noted, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News on Monday, adding that he expects Prescott to do the same following a rough night against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Jones also confirmed Romo would only step in at quarterback if Prescott were unable to play:

On Tuesday, Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram noted that Jones stated the Cowboys "will 'know it when they see it' if it's time to go back to [Romo]."

Jones reiterated Prescott will remain the starter on Thursday, per Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

Head coach Jason Garrett offered support for his young quarterback as well. 

"We feel good about [Prescott] playing quarterback for us right now," he told David Helman of DallasCowboys.com.

Prescott struggled in the team's 10-7 loss to the Giants, finishing 17-of-37 for 165 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. But Jones' confidence in Prescott remains high, as he told Judy Battista of NFL.com:

"

He's got 13 NFL ballgames at a high level under his belt and what's he got, four interceptions now? Four? So four interceptions. I feel good about our quarterback and I like where we are at the quarterback position. We should have asked and wanted him to make the drive that might have won this thing for us tonight. I don't want to make excuses. Most of what happened to us tonight was a well-coached New York Giants defense.

"

For the season, Prescott has thrown for 3,139 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions, adding 218 rushing yards and five additional scores on the ground. He's led the Cowboys to an 11-2 record, the best mark in the NFL, with both losses coming against the Giants.

And in the process, he's earned the trust of his teammates as well as the team's owner and head coach.

"What he's been able to do this year and accomplish, he just continues to answer the bell every step of the way," veteran tight end Jason Witten told Helman. "He's been really good in the huddle, even when we had some adversity tonight. It just says a lot about who he is as a person."

Dez Bryant was quick to deflect the blame away from Prescott as well.

"It wasn't our best night," he noted. "We all made mistakes, and we're going to go back in and fix them. Don't try to single him out."

But despite the repeated votes of confidence for Prescott, the Cowboys find themselves in a unique position with Romo on the bench. The veteran quarterback would still be the starter had he not suffered a back injury in the preseason that cost him more than half the year, making him a far better option than any other backup in the NFL.

If Prescott continues to struggle down the stretch and the Cowboys start losing games, it may be tough to keep Romo on the bench. While one bad game won't start a quarterback controversy, a string of them inevitably will.

Prescott, to his credit, has put the onus on himself to improve his play.

"Not much has to be said to me," he told the team's website. "I'm hard on myself, and I'm my biggest critic. That's the way it is for a lot of those guys. It's all about moving forward."

If the Cowboys take a step back heading into the playoffs, however, they will have to decide whether Prescott or Romo is best equipped to lead them to a Super Bowl title. 

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