Cowboys QB Andy Dalton suffers concussion on huge hit to head from Washington LB Jon Bostic

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For the second time in 15 days, a Cowboys quarterback was helped off the football field after scrambling.

This time, Andy Dalton was down.

Dalton had scrambled 6 yards to Dallas’ 9 when Washington linebacker Jon Bostic lowered his shoulder into Dalton’s helmet, knocking it off with a head-first tackle. Dalton’s helmet rolled 5 yards, his unprotected head again hitting the field.

Bostic was promptly ejected. Dalton was taken to the locker room and later ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion. Rookie seventh-round draft pick Ben DiNucci, the Cowboys’ only other quarterback on their 48-man game-day roster, entered the game.

“Very unfortunate that that had to happen for me to get in the game, but there was no time for me to get nervous or any of that,” DiNucci said after the 25-3 loss. “I couldn’t do anything else except go out there with a smile and get in the huddle and say, ‘Let’s go. Let’s have some fun. We got nothing to lose and it’s raining and there’s no one in the stands, so let’s create our own energy here and try to find some positives from this thing and go put points on the board.’”

The Cowboys trailed 22-3 when Dalton left the game with 6:32 to play in the third quarter.

Dalton’s Cowboys failed to score a touchdown in the first half of either of his two starts in Dallas, falling to a 21-3 deficit against Arizona the previous Monday night.

MORE: Mike McCarthy questions Cowboys players’ response to hit on QB Andy Dalton

Quarterback Andy Dalton #14 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts against the Washington Football Team in the first half at FedExField on October 25, 2020 in Landover, Maryland.

 (Photo: Patrick McDermott, Getty Images)

Dalton completed nine of 19 pass attempts for 75 yards and an interception before he left the Cowboys’ 25-3 loss. He was sacked four times, losing a fumble on one that Washington converted into a safety.

Dalton became Dallas’ starter after quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle on Oct. 11 vs. the New York Giants.

Prescott, who had started 69 straight regular-season contests in Dallas, is out for the season.

Dalton might also miss time as he works through league concussion protocol. DiNucci said Dalton didn’t “really remember what happened” and “was just kind of asking me after the game what happened and things of that nature.”

But Dalton did improve as the afternoon wore on and was deemed “alert” enough to board the team bus and join the Cowboys on their flight home, a team spokesperson said. The spokesperson and DiNucci agreed Dalton was “in good spirits.”

Still, a tough break for a team that already lost Prescott.

A reminder of “just how [expletive] this year has been,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “Just how bad this year has been. But, we still got a lot of time left. We got a big division game next week. … We gotta be better than we were today. We weren’t good at all.”

Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper said he believed the hit was dirty, avoidable once Dalton began to slide. McCarthy chose his words carefully but agreed.

“It was definitely a hit that caused a disqualification,” McCarthy said. “The player was disqualified from the game.

“I think we all understand clearly what a hit is categorized.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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