FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys have made it clear that Dak Prescott will start at quarterback for them in Week 18 against the New York Giants.
What hasn't been as clear is how long Prescott will play. It more than likely will not be the entire game, meaning that Joe Milton will probably get a good number of reps under his belt. The second-year quarterback hasn't been told what he will get but is ready for whatever gets put on his place.
"Just be ready," Milton said of his plan heading into Sunday. "I think that was the plan every week. Coming here was a different status for me. When I say status, I mean it's a different gameplan. I get more reps than I did when I was at the Patriots last year. I moved up in the NFL level as far as the quarterback positions and as far as my knowledge."
While Milton has come in a few times over the course of the season in relief of Prescott when games are already out of reach, he pointed to the practice field being a driver behind his development this season.
"I get the practice reps, that's what practice is for. Practice makes perfect," Milton said. "I just try to command my huddles and command the offensive line and line of scrimmage in practice so by the time the game comes, it's second nature."
The biggest thing that Milton has learned this year hasn't necessarily come on the field, however.
"Patience is virtue," Milton said when asked what he's learned the most this year. "I feel like if you don't have patience, you won't make it in this league, because you never know. Especially with somebody like Dak in front of me, you'll never know. If you don't have patience, you'll probably burn yourself out in this facility and in this job."
With that patience comes an equal responsibility of continuously being prepared should your name be called, which can happen at a moment's notice in the NFL.
"I prepare the same thing every week," Milton said. "I plan as if I was going to play. [QBs coach Steve Shimko] does a great job of making sure that I send my script in, the game script in with my plays that I've got dotted up every week… I don't think this week will be any different from the previous team and that last week, so just stay ready, you never know."
Throughout his learning process in his first year with the Cowboys, Milton credited Dak Prescott and the team's coaching staff for helping him stay on top of things and continue to be prepared.
"Dak's been doing a great job of helping me," Milton said. "Just staying in it, staying in the loop, coaches do a great job of giving me small reps here and there just to make sure I know what's going on. And they always quiz me in the meeting room."
So, should Milton come in for him on Sunday, what does Prescott want to see from his backup quarterback?
"Just command, from the moment he takes the field, just him commanding the huddle," Prescott said. "All of the presnap, everything, just want it to be super clean presnap and then just come out of this game happy with the performance that he put on from himself… He's been developing all year long, so I know he's going to go out there and have a great game, I just want him to be happy with his performance."
What head coach Brian Schottenheimer wants to see from his young quarterback may sound obvious but is still important.
"I want to see him move the football," Schottenheimer said. "I know that's a silly statement, but I want to see him move the football, man. That means executing and having the command and the pace of operation is really important to us. The way we get up to the line of scrimmage and orchestrate things and solve problems, that's all part of playing quarterback…"
"We've seen him do it in flashes, we see it every day in practice, it's really impressive. But doing it on cards is different than doing it out there."
The Cowboys will make the trip up to East Rutherford on Sunday, where Milton could get the most in-game work in a regular season game of his short Dallas career thus far in the season finale.
