Is Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott in a slump? ‘It’s fair to say,’ says Jerry Jones
Something is not right with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, but there is a difference of opinion as to exactly what is wrong.
One day after coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore refused to consider that Prescott might be in a slump, team owner Jerry Jones conceded that a slump might be the best explanation for his franchise quarterback, who is making $40 million annually.
“I don’t want to say that, slump, but that’s probably fair,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “But it’s such a multifaceted evaluation that I would say our offense is definitely away from where we were playing five and six games ago from the standpoint of production.”
Again, McCarthy took a different approach in discussing Prescott’s struggles over the last six games that included the latest outing, another out-of-sync performance by the quarterback and the passing game in Sunday’s 27-20 victory against the Washington Football Team.
Prescott completed 22 of 39 passes for a season-low 211 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and an underwhelming quarterback rating of 58.8.
“I wouldn’t say a quarterback is having a slump. It’s different in football. A lot of things go into it,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think Dak is in a slump. I think everything has not gone the way we would like to go, [and there] are things we can improve on. That’s the focus this week. We’ll just keep working. It goes this way sometimes.”
Moore put the blame on the entire offense, including his play calling.
“I don’t know if I like the description of slumps. I think sometimes you have better games than others,” Moore said. “I think Dak is still doing a great job. We got to play better as a whole group on offense. I’ve got to call it better first and foremost. I feel like we got a great opportunity ahead of ourselves.”
In the six games since returning from a calf strain that caused him to miss one game, Prescott has completed 151 of 239 passes for 1,568 yards with only eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
In his first six games he passed for 1,813 yards with 16 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.
Jones, McCarthy and Moore say Prescott is healthy and believe he and the offense will get back on track.
“He will figure it out,” Jones said. “That’s the key thing here. He has no superior in working on it, studying it, taking it to the practice field, repetition. He’s as good or better than anybody I’ve ever seen and so he will mentally and physically rep this through.”
The Cowboys (9-4) have a month to get it together, and will have a prime opportunity to get on track with a game against the weakest opponent they’ll face down the stretch, with a visit to the last-place New York Giants (4-9) on Sunday at noon. The Cowboys lead the division by three games with four games to go, making their first trip to the playoffs in three years almost a certainty.
But to have an extended postseason run and their first trip to a Super Bowl since the 1995 season, it’s fair to say the Cowboys will need Prescott and the offense to break out of the slump.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
