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Dak Prescott ends miserable season with pitiful finale
Dak Prescott's miserable seasons raises plenty of questions about his future
Sam Quinn - Dec 31, 3:41 PM
Dak Prescott didn't throw an interception in Sunday's 6-0 Dallas Cowboys victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. That's just about the only nice thing you can say about his pathetic performance, and it's a rarity anyway. He threw more of them this season than Blake Bortles.
The Cowboys needed three quarters just to put points on the board against a team that had nothing to play for. No, the Cowboys didn't have anything to gain by winning either, but the Eagles have a good excuse: they're already locked into the playoffs. The Cowboys had nothing to gain because Prescott couldn't muster any offense, even with Ezekiel Elliott, last week against the Seattle Seahawks. That's been a pretty common theme this season for the man who ended Tony Romo's career. The Cowboys have scored single digit points four times this season, and the Seahawks game might have been the worst of them all despite ending with 12 points on the board.
When the Cowboys played the Eagles, Prescott was supposed to match Carson Wentz throw-for-throw. Instead, he ended up doing so with third-stringer Nate Sudfeld for much of the afternoon. He showed no interest in leading the Cowboys to a win that could have provided meaningful momentum next season, and that lacking effort trickles down throughout the entire organization. Every player on the team looks to the quarterback to lead them. Prescott couldn't be bothered to do that on Sunday.
The numbers are startling. He threw 21 touchdowns this season, fewer than the 23 he had last year despite being the expected-centerpiece of the offense while Elliott was out (a role that was grabbed by Alfred Morris when it became apparent Prescott couldn't handle it). His quarterback rating of 86.7 has him behind a quarterback that was benched (Tyrod Taylor) and another that once played for the Hartford Colonials of the UFL (Josh McCown). His interceptions more than tripled, and his completion percentage dropped by over four points. His average pass traveled more than a yard shorter.
Were Prescott's seasons reversed, fans would be thrilled with the progression he made from his rookie to sophomore season. Under normal circumstances, Prescott would have played like this last season, kept the Cowboys hovering around .500 as this team did, and then handed the job back to Romo as he should have.
But circumstances lifted him to heights he had no rights reaching. He had the perfect offensive line, three All Pros and two steady starters to give him as much time to throw as necessary. Dez Bryant still looked like a No. 1 receiver, and Cole Beasley was almost as effective. Elliott was the best running back in football without a suspension hanging over his head all season.
Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. You can win football games without a good quarterback if the rest of the team is great. And that's what happened. A great team carried a middling quarterback to wins that would have been far more decisive with a star like Romo under center, and that convinced them that he was better than Romo. He never was. Prescott lucked into a job he didn't earn and kept it through the hard work of his teammates. He's an accidental starting quarterback.
Nothing would be wrong with that if this weren't the Cowboys. This team has the roster to win a Super Bowl right now. They have a young defense that improved by leaps and bounds this season. They have Elliott and those three All Pro's. Sure, the receiving corps needs some work and the team needs a better insurance policy for Sean Lee, but there are very few teams with more raw talent.
But there are quite a few teams with better quarterbacks. That is why the Cowboys aren't in the playoffs this season. If they want to be there next year, Prescott had better show that he deserves to be the Cowboys starter on his own merits and nobody else's. And if he can't, then let someone else give it a shot.
What was the point of playing Prescott all game? Why didn't Cooper Rush deserve a chance to prove himself after the way he played in the preseason? What has Prescott done to prove he is a franchise quarterback? The Cowboys aren't going to sign Kirk Cousins or trade for Eli Manning. They aren't going to spend this offseason trying to land a whale at the quarterback position.
But the notion that Prescott should be treated like an absolute at the quarterback position makes absolutely no sense. The Cowboys should be open to the idea that someone else deserves to lead this team. Prescott failed to do it on Sunday, and he failed to do it all season. If he fails to do it again next year, they will have lost Romo for nothing. They will have wasted a golden opportunity to compete for championships. And they will regret it for years after the fact.
Dak Prescott's miserable seasons raises plenty of questions about his future
Sam Quinn - Dec 31, 3:41 PM
Dak Prescott didn't throw an interception in Sunday's 6-0 Dallas Cowboys victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. That's just about the only nice thing you can say about his pathetic performance, and it's a rarity anyway. He threw more of them this season than Blake Bortles.
The Cowboys needed three quarters just to put points on the board against a team that had nothing to play for. No, the Cowboys didn't have anything to gain by winning either, but the Eagles have a good excuse: they're already locked into the playoffs. The Cowboys had nothing to gain because Prescott couldn't muster any offense, even with Ezekiel Elliott, last week against the Seattle Seahawks. That's been a pretty common theme this season for the man who ended Tony Romo's career. The Cowboys have scored single digit points four times this season, and the Seahawks game might have been the worst of them all despite ending with 12 points on the board.
When the Cowboys played the Eagles, Prescott was supposed to match Carson Wentz throw-for-throw. Instead, he ended up doing so with third-stringer Nate Sudfeld for much of the afternoon. He showed no interest in leading the Cowboys to a win that could have provided meaningful momentum next season, and that lacking effort trickles down throughout the entire organization. Every player on the team looks to the quarterback to lead them. Prescott couldn't be bothered to do that on Sunday.
The numbers are startling. He threw 21 touchdowns this season, fewer than the 23 he had last year despite being the expected-centerpiece of the offense while Elliott was out (a role that was grabbed by Alfred Morris when it became apparent Prescott couldn't handle it). His quarterback rating of 86.7 has him behind a quarterback that was benched (Tyrod Taylor) and another that once played for the Hartford Colonials of the UFL (Josh McCown). His interceptions more than tripled, and his completion percentage dropped by over four points. His average pass traveled more than a yard shorter.
Were Prescott's seasons reversed, fans would be thrilled with the progression he made from his rookie to sophomore season. Under normal circumstances, Prescott would have played like this last season, kept the Cowboys hovering around .500 as this team did, and then handed the job back to Romo as he should have.
But circumstances lifted him to heights he had no rights reaching. He had the perfect offensive line, three All Pros and two steady starters to give him as much time to throw as necessary. Dez Bryant still looked like a No. 1 receiver, and Cole Beasley was almost as effective. Elliott was the best running back in football without a suspension hanging over his head all season.
Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. You can win football games without a good quarterback if the rest of the team is great. And that's what happened. A great team carried a middling quarterback to wins that would have been far more decisive with a star like Romo under center, and that convinced them that he was better than Romo. He never was. Prescott lucked into a job he didn't earn and kept it through the hard work of his teammates. He's an accidental starting quarterback.
Nothing would be wrong with that if this weren't the Cowboys. This team has the roster to win a Super Bowl right now. They have a young defense that improved by leaps and bounds this season. They have Elliott and those three All Pro's. Sure, the receiving corps needs some work and the team needs a better insurance policy for Sean Lee, but there are very few teams with more raw talent.
But there are quite a few teams with better quarterbacks. That is why the Cowboys aren't in the playoffs this season. If they want to be there next year, Prescott had better show that he deserves to be the Cowboys starter on his own merits and nobody else's. And if he can't, then let someone else give it a shot.
What was the point of playing Prescott all game? Why didn't Cooper Rush deserve a chance to prove himself after the way he played in the preseason? What has Prescott done to prove he is a franchise quarterback? The Cowboys aren't going to sign Kirk Cousins or trade for Eli Manning. They aren't going to spend this offseason trying to land a whale at the quarterback position.
But the notion that Prescott should be treated like an absolute at the quarterback position makes absolutely no sense. The Cowboys should be open to the idea that someone else deserves to lead this team. Prescott failed to do it on Sunday, and he failed to do it all season. If he fails to do it again next year, they will have lost Romo for nothing. They will have wasted a golden opportunity to compete for championships. And they will regret it for years after the fact.
