Clarence Hill: Why Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys are most disputed 12-win playoff team ever
It was a simple question to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott last Thursday and he spoke volumes.
A Cowboys team that has achieved back-to-back 12 wins seasons for the first time since 1992-1995 when won three Super Bowl titles and that has made back-to-back trips to the playoffs for the first time since 2006-2007 is also arguably the most mistrusted, scrutinized and questioned alleged Super Bowl contender in NFL history.
Why is that?
“Is that a real question?,” Prescott answered rhetorically and incredulously. “It’s because we’re the Dallas Cowboys. And obviously we haven’t won in what 20-something years. I mean, 26 years. Not only are we the most covered, but for the last not 26 years, people have gotten to talk about the loss and losses. And not only that, what if you’re my age or younger, you’ve never seen the Cowboys win and so you don’t understand how they’re America’s team or how this is the number one sports organization. I think that’s a no brainer, why we why we get ‘the Hey,’ why people have doubt.”
“But I think that’s every motivation for those guys in there to just shut people up.We haven’t played for the last 26 years. I’ve played for seven but it takes a good team in all three phases and we have that and we’re not going to let our focus or anything be deterred because of other people’s doubts.”
The Cowboys were considered one of three favorites to contend for the Super Bowl out of the NFC and possibly win their first championship since 1995, ending a 26-year drought.
Of course, all this was before Sunday’s 26-6 embarrassing nothing burger against a Washington Commanders team that has already booked its vacation plans for the offseason and may be tempted to get a little petty and book a trip for the Cowboys to Cabo for the following week.
Where’s Tony Romo to lead the way?
A team that had a chance for a franchise-record tying 13-win of the season is now headed to Tamp Bay for the wild card playoffs against the Buccaneers in a game that no one believes they can win.
Sure, it’s partly about quarterback Tom Brady, who has never lost the the Cowboys in their career.
But it’s mainly about Prescott and the Cowboys who continue be their own enemy when it comes playing well when it matters most.
At the end of the day the outcome of the Washington game was of little consequence as the only way the Cowboys could improve their playoff seeding and avoid a trip to Tampa Bay was if they beat Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New York Giants.
The Eagles won 22-16 so the Cowboys were locked into a date at Tampa Bay (on Jan. 16) win or lose.
But they wanted to play well and go into the playoffs with some confidence and momentum.
And Prescott wanted to end his nasty streak of interceptions, which somehow belied how well he and the offense had been playing since returned from missing five games with a fractured thumb.
The Cowboys were No. 1 in the league in offense efficiency. They were No. 1 in points. They were No. 1 on third downs and in No. 1 in yards.
Yet all anyone wanted to talk about was Prescott’s interceptions and that was going to hold them back in the playoffs because no one trust him or the Cowboys to come up big and suddenly play mistake free football.
So how did Prescott and the Cowboys shut all the doubters and naysayers against Washington and give them something else to talk about heading into the playoffs?
By throwing gasoline in the fiery narrative with easily their worst performance of the season and one the worst performance of his career.
Prescott completed 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards. His completion percentage of 37.8 was the worst of his career. His 45.8 quarterback rating was the second-worst of his career.
The Cowboys offense had 12 3-and-outs and the running game amassed just 64 yards, the second lowest of the season.
But it is Prescott who will have the airwaves buzzing, thanks to a performance that included his second pick-6 of the season. Prescott ended the season with an interception in seven straight games.
Despite playing in just 12 games, He finished tied for the league-lead in interceptions with 15.
Critics don’t trust the Cowboys because their history but they also don’t trust them because they don’t believe in Prescott, who is the most talked about scrutinized franchise quarterback in the NFL.
Mike McCarthy is fond of saying, defenses win championships but quarterbacks win the Super Bowl.
If you didn’t believe that Prescott could lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title before Sunday’s self-described “crappy” performance, how can you believe it now?
“That’s all that’s all I’ve done,” Prescott said when asked about his confidence in responding with a better performance in the playoffs. “I’ve been having to get back up all my life.”
Trust is earned.
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 10:34 PM.
