‘Greedy’ Dak Prescott going for it all, while holding out on Cowboys in plain sight
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went from greedy to perfect to charitable to funny in a ho-hum 31-6 win against the Miami Dolphins Sunday.
It’s all fun and games when your team is undefeated at 3-0 and you’re playing as well as any quarterback in NFL.
But be wary.
This bow-tie wearing Cowboys quarterback is turning into a smiling assassin who the front office is finding out is just as ruthless off the field as he has become on the field.
What does imminent mean, exactly?
What it means to owner Jerry Jones, who said a contract extension between the two sides was imminent three weeks ago, makes no difference to Prescott and his agent Todd France, as contract talks have slowed down because the asking price has not gone down, according to sources.
Prescott may not have gone to Cabo like running back Ezekiel Elliott did before getting a six-year, $90 million extension, but this current contract stalemate has him holding out in plain sight and he has no intention of blinking or backing down.
Elliott initially asked for $19 million annually before “settling” for $15 million.
Prescott’s lofty demands, which started at $34 million and have been rumored to have approached $40 million, have only been emboldened by his sizzling start to the 2019 season.
His nine touchdown passes through three games, including two against the Dolphins, are tied for the most in team history to start the season with Don Meredith (1966).
As far as the league is concerned, he leads the NFL in Total Quarterback Rating. He is fifth in passing yards, second in yards per attempt, second in touchdown passes and second in quarterback rating.
The man formerly known as dink and dunk Dak is going for it all.
And who can blame him?
This brings us to the second quarter against the Dolphins.
The only reason the Cowboys took as long as they did to put away the tanking and hapless Dolphins is because Prescott got greedy in the second quarter.
With plenty of time and a wide open field, he shunned a possible 20-yard scramble to loft a bomb into what looked like quadruple coverage with two receivers in the area. It turned into an interception and proved to be a bookmark moment for the game.
“It was just bad by me, great by the offensive line,” Prescott said. “Went through every read probably three times I guess, and I broke the pocket and it was just bad by me. Terrible by me. I saw both guys and went to throw it and it just kind of got away from me. I was looking at both of my guys at the same time and it got away from me and it just wasn’t a good play.”
Prescott admittedly said he was being too greedy and told offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as much.
“I was being too greedy,” he said. “One of those heat checks or whatever you call it, just trying to do too much in the first half. I said it to Kellen [Moore] at the end of the game that at the end of the first half, I was just being greedy. I want these shots; you hit these shots in a couple of games, and you want them again, you get anxious. But, taking it down with those backs will get just as many yards as those deep throws and allowing the game to come to me is what I did in the second half.”
Said Moore on Prescott’s greed: “Those things are going to happen. Those things are going to happen. You want some big plays in there. Sometimes it happens. Credit to him. He calmed down. He got in a really good place. He handled that really really well.”
Prescott went from greedy to perfect in the third quarter, completing all nine passes for 137 yards to lead the Cowboys to two touchdowns and turn a 10-6 halftime lead to a 24-6 snoozer.
He had a touchdown pass and a touchdown run, logging his eighth career game with at least two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, which is the most by a Cowboy quarterback and the most by any NFL quarterback since he joined the league as a lowly fourth-round pick in 2016.
Prescott has now completed all 22 of his passes in the third quarter through three games.
It was also his 35th win since 2016, the most for any quarterback in NFL not named Tom Brady.
Life is good right now for Prescott, which is why he could be charitable and funny in the fourth quarter at the expense of former teammate Taco Charlton.
Cut by the Cowboys on Wednesday and picked by the Dolphins Thursday, Charlton got the lone sack against Prescott by default.
“I told Taco good luck on everything,” he said. “I didn’t tell him congrats on that sack or anything. I could have thrown it away, but he can have that one.”
Why didn’t Prescott throw it away?
“Completion percentage,” he said with a laugh.
In a season in which he’s aiming to become the highest paid player in team history, if not surpassing Russell Wilson and his $35 million annual salary as the highest paid player in NFL history, all the numbers matter.
Even Jones offered a little tongue-in-cheek humor when asked about Prescott’s second quarter greed.
“I’ll tell you, we’re starting to just get unbelievable disbelief when Dak makes a poor decision, we’re just not used to that,” Jones said facetiously. “I’m just proud that he’s moving that ball around and came back out and really moved it around to a lot of different people. I’m really pleased with the game that he played.”
How about the game he is playing on the front office by holding out in plain sight?
What does imminent mean again?
