Vintage and feisty Dak Prescott makes pointed statement in historic Dallas Cowboys win
It’s was an amazing throw in the second quarter of Sunday’s 40-3 beat down of the Minnesota Vikings that not only showed how well Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was playing but it also conjured up images of a one of the most memorable plays by future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
It was pure arrogance, confidence and artistry all rolled into one. Ahead 20-3 on the Minnesota Vikings with 31 seconds left in the half, Prescott and the Cowboys could have settled and gone into halftime feeling good about themselves, while knowing they would get the ball to start the third quarter.
There was no taking his foot off the gas on this day by Prescott, not off the week he endured and the unfair criticism he took after last Sunday’s 31-28 overtime loss to Green Bay when he was accused of being erratic and called a weak link.
Never mind that the Cowboys started the drive on their own 14-yard line, Prescott was locked in. A pass to CeeDee Lamb for 4 yards was followed passes to Tony Pollard and Dalton Schultz for 4 and 7 yards.
Then on second-and-3 from the Cowboys 31 with 13 seconds left, Prescott rolled right with a lineman in front of him and unleashed a 27-yard perfectly thrown rocket to Lamb, who framed the pass on the right sideline before falling out of bounds.
The throw and play was a carbon copy of the unreal play Rodgers made against the Cowboys in the wildcard playoffs in 2016 when he unleashed a seemingly improbable 35-yard laser that tight end Jared Cook framed on the left sideline with seconds left, setting up the game-winning field.
Prescott’s throw on Sunday set up a 60-yard kick by Brett Maher in a 40-3 victory by the Cowboys, the largest road win in franchise history and arguably the most important and decisive win by the Cowboys against a quality opponent in decades.
The comparisons on the Prescott throw couldn’t be denied.
Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who was Prescott’s backup in 2016, immediately brought up Rodgers play.
It was not lost on Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who was cheering from the other sideline in 2016.
But when I brought it up to Prescott after the game, he wanted no part of it.
“That was Dak,” Prescott said.
No, I meant it was Rodgers-like from 2016.
“That was like Dak,” the Cowboys quarterback shot back.
So if you want to know the resolve and the mindset of the pissed, angry and motivated Cowboys, who unleashed a historic can of whoop (butt) on the Vikings Sunday, it was embodied in the team’s quarterback.
It was a complete team win as the Cowboys ran for 150 yards. And running back Tony Pollard started on offense with 80 yards rushing and 109 yards and two touchdowns receiving.
The angry Cowboys defense held the Vikings to 73 yard rushing and notched seven sacks, including two each from linebacker Micah Parsons and defensive end Dorance Amstrong.
And there was Prescott, who was nearly perfect, not only on that throw but throughout the game in his play, decision making and accuracy.
He completed 22 of 25 passes for 276 yards with touchdowns of 30 and 68 yards to Pollard. The second touchdown was such a dime that the couldn’t have handed the ball to Pollard in any better for walk in touchdown.
And it came at a crucial time.
The Cowboys faced third-and-14 on the first drive of the third quarter backed up on their own territory. Already down 23-3, if the Vikings had any hope of getting back in the game this was a crucial time to get a stop.
The crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium was at a fever pitch. And then it went quiet, as Pollard walked the dog into the end zone.
He missed only three passes all day and one was a clear drop.
Prescott’s 88.0 completion percentage was the second-highest of his career behind an 88.6% completion rate against Tampa Bay in 2016. His 11.0 yards-per-attempt was the third-highest of his career and the most since his 12.7 yards-per-attempt in 2019 against the N.Y. Giants.
And this doesn’t include him checking out a quarterback run on third down, resulting in an 11-yard gain a first down.
Just a few days ago, owner Jerry Jones found himself answering the incredulous question about whether Prescott was the team’s weak link, following a two-interception performance against the Packers and an inability to direct a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, despite staking the Cowboys to a 28-14 lead that the defense admittedly blew.
Jones defended Prescott then and was proud as a peacock after Sunday’s game when asked about his $40 million quarterback’s performance.
“I think you saw vintage Dak,” Jones said. “You saw the Dak that I hope I get to see for 10 more years, at least.”
Prescott has been driven by motivation and slights his entire football career.
He had to play at Mississippi State because his favored school LSU didn’t think the Louisiana native was good enough to play quarterback.
And even after leading the Bulldogs to a No. 1 ranking for the first time in history he was relegated to the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Of the seven quarterbacks taken before him in the 2016 NFL Draft, only three are still in the NFL. And only two are still starting: Jared Goff, who is on his second team and considered a stop-gap option for the Detroit Lions and Jacoby Brissett, who is a placeholder with the Cleveland Browns until Deshaun Watson comes off suspension.
Prescott has been the Cowboys starter for seven years and is thrown more touchdown passes to start his career than any quarterback in franchise history, including Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman and Romo, the team’s all-time leading passer whom he replaced.
Yet, talk continues to center around Prescott so called questionable record against winning teams and this week it was about his so-called erratic play, an patently unfounded accusation that coach Mike McCarthy summarily shot down.
Prescott has always taken the high road when it comes to his critics. He stays off social media and lets his brother Tadd do his bidding for him.
But as we found out Sunday, there is only so much Prescott will take. Don’t misconstrue his kindness for weakness and he was tired of going high when others were going low.
“I can’t tell you what’s going on on Twitter with you and my brother or whatever my brother may be saying,” Prescott said. “I’ll leave that to him. Obviously, I know he’s passionate about his little brother. He’s going to support him, and I appreciate that. But I don’t usually get motivation from what other people say. I’m very intrinsically inspired. A lot of things people in my life have moved me and a great team in there, guys I don’t want to let down each and every day that made me the man that I am.
“But, yeah, when you hear some things about your performance, ‘erratic’, it comes from you guys. Things stick and stay. You are as good as your last game. For me, it’s about that keeping it in forefront of my mind, knowing the people in the locker room and being accountable to each other and building off how great we can be.”
That’s Dak.
