ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will need surgery for a fractured bone in his throwing hand sustained in the season opener and will miss multiple weeks.

The quarterback got hurt in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night. Prescott's right hand made contact with rushing linebacker Shaquil Barrett when throwing a pass.

Prescott said he initially thought he had just jammed a finger, like he has many times before, but realized on the next play that he couldn't grip the football.

After initially being checked on the sideline, he jogged to the locker room and had X-rays. Backup Cooper Rush finished the game.

"I've hit my hand on helmets or bodies a lot in my career and never had anything, maybe a jammed finger and actually thought that is what it was," Prescott said. "Told the trainers the same thing, I can't grip (the ball), I feel like if you yank it, I'll be OK. Came in and got X-rays, and things are different."

Prescott said he will see a doctor Monday and have surgery after that. He said he was told after the X-rays that the injury "was much cleaner than it could have been."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the injury is above his thumb, and behind the joint, and he pointed to an area between his own thumb and wrist.

Prescott's 2020 season ended in the fifth week because of a gruesome ankle injury. He returned last season to throw for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns as the Cowboys won the NFC East before losing their first-round playoff game to San Francisco at home.

The 29-year-old Prescott said he got into the best shape of his life going into this season, his seventh in the NFL.

When there appeared to be a setback in practice last week, Prescott blamed a change in cleats for soreness in his surgically repaired ankle.

Prescott and the Cowboys are dealing with a bigger issue now, after losing the season opener without scoring a touchdown.

"To be very candid with you, all of that takes a backseat to the fact that as we go forward here for the next few weeks, we'll be going forward without Dak," Jones said. "That's foremost on my mind."

Jones reiterated that while Prescott will be out "several games," he would not be out for the season.

Asked to characterize his emotions, Prescott said while disappointing and unfortunate, injuries are not necessarily anything he can control.

"Obviously going to miss some time and not be there for my team, and that's what hurts more than more than anything especially after the start that we just put out there," Prescott said. "Wanted to be able to respond and not necessarily having that opportunity for several weeks, yeah, it's unfortunate. But I'll do what I've always done any time adversity comes, take it on headfirst and I'll give my best and I'm sure I'll come out of this thing better."

___

More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL