Cowboys’ Andy Dalton leaves game after suffering illegal blow to the head by Washington defender

Andy Dalton is down. Just when the Dallas Cowboys think things can’t get any worse for them, they find out how wrong they are. Already without Dak Prescott for the season, Dalton took an illegal blow to the head from Jon Bostic after sliding — leading to the latter being ejected and Dalton heading straight to the locker room. It was initially unclear if Dalton would return, but the Cowboys ruled him out in the fourth quarter. This leaves backup quarterback Ben DiNucci in to wrap up against a dominant Washington Football Team defensive front.

Here is the hit that sent Dalton to the locker room:

The Cowboys also have veteran Garrett Gilbert on the roster, but he’s inactive this week.

Should Dalton miss time going forward, the Cowboys will find themselves again in a crunch with QB depth, and would likely have to add another body to the roster. For now, it’s simply evaluation for Dalton, but the blow to the head could land him in concussion protocol, which is what he’s likely being evaluated for. DiNucci, who is the team’s rookie seventh-round pick, must figure out how to make plays behind an offensive line that allowed three sacks on Dalton.

You can get real-time updates on Dalton and the rest of the Cowboys-Washington game in our live blog.