Did Jerry Jones really just compare Dak Prescott to Patrick Mahomes and Tony Romo?
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was being his typical hyperbolic self with a bunch of meaningless and confusing word salads on his radio show Tuesday morning. But then he said something that will likely strike a chord with Cowboys fans and could have reverberations into the offseason when contract talks resume with quarterback Dak Prescott.
During Tuesday’s show on 105.3 The Fan, Jones started innocently enough by acknowledging there is a major gap between the Super Bowl champion Kansas Chiefs, who moved to 3-0 on Monday night, and the 1-2 Cowboys.
That much is obvious to all who follow this team.
Jones then started spouting off about how special Chiefs rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was and how he wished he would have fallen to the second round so the Cowboys could’ve taken a look at him.
It’s unlikely they would have taken a running back over cornerback Trevon Diggs, who played at an obvious need position and was a player the Cowboys had rated as a first-rounder. It would have certainly been rich for the Cowboys to take a back-up running back in the second round one year after signing Ezekiel Elliott to a $90 million contract extension.
But then Jones transitioned into the greatness of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and his ability to be elusive and buy himself time to make plays.
“Their quarterback is at the highest level right now because of his natural ability to make plays, his mobility,” Jones said in speaking about Mahomes. “This guy is very quick and elusive and can get in and out of situations with his feet and buy time.”
Jones seemed to truly step in it and raise some eyebrows when he said Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had those skills, and even former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
“The quarterback [Wilson] we played Sunday is of that kind of nature. He’s very — he has great ability to get in and out and then make the play,” Jones continued. “The play Dak made at the end of the game that got intercepted. Well, the result of Dak’s ability that let him get that ball off was really great and outstanding.
“Well, these guys do that, have that ability a lot. They are very quick-footed, and they have the very unique ability to possibly take their eyes away from the field for a minute and then immediately focus back and see. [Tony] Romo had that. And, so, he could turn his back on it and turn around and hand-eye and get it done quick. And, so, those are things that show up, and that’s what’s showing up with these guys. They’re buying time with their feet. They’re buying time with their instincts and their feet.”
So if we are to read into Jones’ response — and you know we’re about to — was he intimating that those were skills that his own quarterback does not possess? Or was is just that Prescott displayed the same skills on that play, but just came up short?
You decide.
What is not in question is that Prescott passed for 472 yards in Sunday’s loss, and rallied the Cowboys back from a 30-15 deficit to take a 31-30 lead. Sure, Wilson put Seattle back in front with his fifth touchdown pass of the game with 1:47 seconds left. No amount of agility on Prescott’s part, while he was on the sideline, would have prevented having to go into comeback mode again.
Prescott then drove the Cowboys down to the Seahawks’ 22.
On 3rd down following a 4-yard sack, he avoided a sack by spinning to his left, touching his hand to the ground and then heaving a desperation throw to the end zone that was intercepted with six seconds left.
They play showcased Prescott’s ability, but it was also a play that didn’t turn out well for the team. So why even compare your quarterback to Mahomes and Wilson, and their ability to make plays and use Prescott’s interception as an example?
In fact, why even compare your quarterback to other players, and risk that these convoluted comments might be misinterpreted?
Remember, we’re talking about your quarterback who is playing on a $31.4 million franchise tag in 2020 and whose annual market value will land somewhere between Wilson’s $35 million and Mahomes’ $45 million this offseason.
Oh, by the way, Prescott leads the NFL with 1,188 passing yards and is playing opposite a Cowboys defense that ranks 30th in the league and has registered just one turnover.
