FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott meant this in the best of ways when talking about rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci.

"He definitely has a little s--- to him," Elliott said. "Confidence. He takes command of the huddle, and that's great especially coming from a young guy since you honestly don't know. He hadn't played any snaps in this league up until last week. So you don't know what you're going to get, but it definitely is a big, big, big help that he's in that thing confident."

With Andy Dalton ruled out for Sunday's game (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) against the Philadelphia Eagles because of a concussion, DiNucci -- the Cowboys' seventh-round pick out of James Madison -- would make the first start of his pro career.

"I'm just being me. Being a quarterback, you've got to have a little something to you," DiNucci said. "You've got to have confidence. You've got to have a leader whether you're a veteran in your 15th year or a rookie about to make your first start. I've just got to go in there and be the same guy that I've always been, whether it's letting these guys hear my voice inflection when we're in the huddle. If I sound confident, these guys are going to know they can trust me when I'm out there. I'm just one of 11."

History has not been kind to Cowboys rookie quarterbacks; overall, they have a 3-10 record. The last rookie to win in his debut? Jason Garrett in 1993 against the Phoenix Cardinals, but he was pulled in the Cowboys' 20-15 victory in favor of Bernie Kosar. The last rookie to win and play the entire game? Kevin Sweeney in 1987 against the New York Jets in a replacement players' game.

Roger Staubach won his first start as a rookie in 1969 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The rookie quarterbacks combined for seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Having DiNucci start was not in the Cowboys' plan a few weeks ago, but Dak Prescott is out for the season with a broken right ankle, and Dalton took a vicious hit last week against the Washington Football Team that led to his concussion.

The last time the Cowboys started at least three different quarterbacks was in 2015, during a forgetful 4-12 campaign. Tony Romo (3-1), Brandon Weeden (0-3), Matt Cassel (1-6) and Kellen Moore (0-2) started for the Cowboys that season.

It's another one of the bad cards coach Mike McCarthy has been dealt. He was asked if it is harder to put together a game plan for a rookie quarterback.

"Is it harder?" he repeated, almost incredulously. "Was I not supposed to laugh at that? It's kind of hard to tell with your mask on, so I didn't know if you were serious. Yeah, it's a bit harder to prepare with a first-year quarterback than Andy, yes."

Harder does not mean impossible.

Since 2012, quarterbacks are 10-1 when their first NFL start has come in a prime-time window, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. That record includes wins from backups such as Nick Mullens (San Francisco), Tom Savage (Houston), Devlin Hodges (Pittsburgh) and Brett Rypien (Denver) earlier this season.

Moore, now the Cowboys' offensive coordinator, was a third-year player in 2015 when he made his first pro start. He finished with 186 yards on 13-of-31 passing with an interception in a 16-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

His message to DiNucci?

Just go play.

"It's confidence and presence. And it's about calling a play in the huddle," Moore said. "Just going in there with the command, the presence, the confidence, to call a play, to call it confidently, to look everyone in their eyes and say, 'You got this and you got this, and let's go.' When guys feel that, guys respond well."

On Wednesday, Elliott and guard Zack Martin said DiNucci had a good practice. On Thursday, wide receiver Michael Gallup said DiNucci was "slinging it" in practice to CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and himself.

"[DiNucci's] been good," Gallup said. "He comes up after every period that we got and he's like, 'My job is actually pretty easy; I've just got to get you three the ball and let y'all go to work. It's not that hard.' So it's been good."

Martin, who has started games with six different starting QBs since joining the Cowboys in 2014, has liked what he has seen and heard from DiNucci.

"He's got a lot of confidence, which is line one for me as a quarterback is confidence," Martin said. "... It's up to the rest of the guys on the offense to instill confidence in him. All the other 10 guys got to do our part every single play, run, pass, go to make him feel comfortable out there and all the weight isn't on his shoulders."

A year ago at this time, James Madison had an off week, with the University of New Hampshire up next. DiNucci then threw for 293 yards, had two touchdown passes and ran for another in a 54-16 win.

The Eagles, even with their 2-4-1 record, present a little different challenge.

"It's pretty easy when you look out there to your left and you got Michael Gallup and to your right you got CeeDee and Amari Cooper and then Zeke to the left of you in the shotgun," DiNucci said. "Pretty extensive group of playmakers on the outside. So for me, my job is going to be to get the ball in these guys' hands and let them do what they do, best keep the chains moving, try and stay out of third-and-longs and convert, put some points on the board -- and we'll see what happens from there."