Dak went down to Georgia (a year ago), and hasn’t been the same since

A year ago Monday, Dak Prescott survived arguably the worst physical beating he’s ever taken in a football game.

The fact that he walked off the field after the Atlanta Falcons routed the Dallas Cowboys 27-7 at Mercedez Benz Stadium remains a miracle.

He was sacked eight times, including six by Adrian Clayborn, who also forced two fumbles from Prescott. Chaz Green was the unfortunate soul who was filling in for the injured Tyron Smith and was burned on most of the sacks.

Since that loss, the Cowboys, who entered the game 5-3 and riding a three-game win streak that included road wins at San Francisco and Washington, are 8-8.

It was the first of six games played without Ezekiel Elliott, who was serving his NFL suspension after a lengthy appeals process. It started a three-game losing streak for Dallas, who limped through the rest of the season with a 4-3 record to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs.

Prescott has been a different quarterback since running for his life in Atlanta. Through the first 24 games of his career, Prescott had a 102.4 quarterback rating with 39 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He completed 66.2 percent of his passes and was sacked 35 times. He also rushed for 477 yards and 10 touchdowns. He average He averaged 228.5 yards passing a game.

In the 17 games since, including the loss in Atlanta, the drop off is drastic. Prescott has been sacked 54 times and has a QB rating of 83.1. He has 17 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and is averaging 202.1 yards passing a game with a slightly lower completion percentage (63.5).

About the only thing that has improved for Prescott is his running game. He’s rushed for 418 yards with five touchdowns over the past 17 games.

Dak Went Down To Georgia …

A look at Dak Prescott’s numbers through his first 24 games and the last 17 games, beginning with a 27-7 loss at Atlanta in which he was sacked eight times: