Dak Prescott added this much-needed element to ignite Cowboys’ offense
Perhaps watching Cam Newton use his mobility in Week 1 was an inspiration.
No matter the reason, Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott ran the ball six times for a career-high 46 yards to effectively keep the New York Giants’ defense honest Sunday night at AT&T Stadium.
It’s Prescott’s most rushing yards in an NFL game.
It was a big factor in the Cowboys’ 20-13 win.
Prescott first burned the Giants with his arm. On the third play from scrimmage, he hit Tavon Austin for a 64-yard scoring pass. It’s the longest touchdown pass of Prescott’s three-year career. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 160 yards. But it was his running, along with Ezekiel Elliott’s 78 yards on 17 carries that helped the offense most exploit the Giants’ defense.
“When that quarterback run and runs effectively like a big tight end, or for that matter, a big fullback, which he can and does, then that puts some pressure on them,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “And it was good to see him take them deep right off the bat.”
Elliott’s six-yard scoring run with about five minutes remaining that sealed the win for Dallas.
Prescott only had 19 yards on five carries in Week 1. His counterpart Newton, rushed 13 times for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Jones mentioned earlier in the week his desire to see Prescott use his mobility and running ability. Jones defended Prescott after a rough Week 1.
“It’s a dimension that other teams have used. Last week it was used against us real good and it was effective,” Jones said after the game. “I think it was impactful tonight. I think Dak does give us a dimension with a lot of options and the more we put them in the game and use them the more that makes the defenses honest.”
Prescott not only broke free on several designed runs, including a long of 15 yards, but didn’t always go down with a typical quarterback slide. That’s also something out of Newton’s playbook. Prescott’s previous rushing high was 42 yards on six carries against the Falcons in 2017. He was also sacked eight times that day in Atlanta.
This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 10:11 PM.