The Dallas Cowboys’ season was hanging by a thread after the 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons with Dak Prescott suffering a hamstring injury.

After the next couple of days, Prescott who got an MRI on his hamstring, is now moved to IR, meaning he will be out for at least a month.

That starts a conversation regarding who will be the Cowboys’ starting quarterback in Dak’s absence. Head coach Mike McCarthy has already stated that Cooper Rush will get the first crack, with Trey Lance as his backup.

But as things stand right now, the Cowboys have a delicate balancing act to follow, with the “blow-it-up” theory front of mind.

As things currently stand, Dallas holds the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but what transpires over the course of the season could improve or worsen the Cowboys’ draft hand.

With Rush, there is no doubt that if the Cowboys still seriously want to aim for a playoff spot, Cooper gives the team the best chance at doing that. He’s familiar with the offense and has stepped in and played before (5-1 as a starter), but he won’t have Dan Quinn’s defense as he did in 2022.

This move is made with 2024 still in mind. But there’s another avenue.

The other is Trey Lance, the quarterback the Cowboys now infamous traded away a fourth-round pick for.

With Lance getting the majority of preseason reps, and while he didn’t show the type of development that many wanted to see, he did show small signs of progression with a host of backups.

Does Dallas want to see what it has in Lance as a starter? Granted, he doesn’t have the same intangibles as Rush but he offers one thing that Cooper can’t. A genuine rushing threat.

As Jerry Jones stated, Lance could “pack a punch” for the offense, and his dual-threat ability adds another wrinkle to an offense that is struggling on the ground.

Plus, as our own Mike Fisher stated, the 2024 season is now doom and gloom, so why not try to inject some sort of life into it by either giving Lance some snaps on offense similar to Taysom Hill or giving Lance the keys for the next month (maybe more) to see what he can do as the starter?

The unknown of what Lance could produce on the field is certainly intriguing, given Lance’s lack of playing time. … which has many Cowboys fans suggesting Dallas should simply start Lance. As one put it …

But does Rush increase the chances of winning? Does that matter? That is the balancing act Dallas is performing right now.

Give the keys to Rush and try and hold onto any hope for 2024, or let Lance loose and see if that fourth-round pick was worth it while potentially injecting some excitement into this horror season.

Which way will the scales tilt?