Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott silences critics with career-best performance, playoff win
In the end, Dak Prescott had no turnovers.
That was important for some — certainly those who doubted, questioned and cajoled about the mistakes of a man who had long-been considered an underdog on the field, grew up in a trailer in rural Louisiana, lost his mother to cancer and one of his brother’s to suicide.
So what that Prescott led the league in turnovers in just 12 games? So what he finished season with a streak of seven games with an interception and had arguably the worst performance of his career in an embarrassing season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders?
Prescott never wavered, never lost confidence and never doubted.
So a man who had been through much worst delivered his very best in what was considered a potential legacy-shaping game in Monday’s 31-14 dominating victory against seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFC wildcard playoffs.
Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 305 yards, had a quarterback rating of 143.3 and played turnover-free ball for the first time in eight games. He had 329 total yards, adding seven carries for 24 yards on the ground.
He set a team playoff record with five touchdowns, four passing and one running.
And he became only the third Cowboys quarterback to ever through four touchdown passes in a playoff game, joining Hall of Fame Roger Staubach in the 1975 NFC Championship and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman in the 1992 Super Bowl.
And thanks to Prescott, the Cowboys won a playoff game on the road for the first time since 1992, the year they won the first of three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s, breaking a 30-year drought that featured eight straight losses.
“I didn’t listen (to the critics). Simply just didn’t listen to anybody else’s opinions, anybody else’s thoughts,” Prescott said. “Made sure I was conscious of what I put in my own head. Got a great supporting cast, people on my team, people that believe in me. That’s all that really matters to me is staying focused on what I can.”
“I couldn’t allow the frustration to get in my head. I couldn’t allow it to change the way I play this game. I got confidence.”
It was a performance Prescott had to have and one that has owner Jerry Jones dreaming about Super Bowls again.
“Dak was going to have to step out here and go and be the difference,” Jones said. “He did. He was. It served notice to everybody — including his teammates, including himself. That’s part of the trophy we won. This was an elevating experience. Dak met the mark met the mark in every way.
“What was a great performance. That’s how you lift that position. That’s how you helped create a championship team right there. Because it was all against it was against him. And the situation was against him and had a great player on the other side of the ball in his possession and came out there and played played at that particular level.”
Prescott played at level never seen before by a Cowboys quarterback in playoff game.
Aikman, Staubach, Danny White, Tony Romo or Don Meredith had ever passed for 300 yards and thrown four touchdown passes in a playoff game.
Prescott completed 11 straight passes in the first half, the most consecutive completions in a game in Cowboys postseason history
Prescott’s 143.3 passer rating was a postseason career-high and marked the fourth-highest passer rating by a Cowboys quarterback in any playoff game.
Prescott’s 75.8% completion rate was the second-highest completion percentage in postseason team history, trailing only Aikman’s 76.7% completion rate against Green Bay in the 1994 postseason.
Aikman, who worked the game as an analyst for ESPN, said it was the best game he’s ever seen Prescott play.
“Just a huge win for Dak. I’ve been a fan of his since he came into the league. In an era where a lot of people want to be a brand, and they worry about numbers and all of those things, Dak is an old school quarterback that only cares about winning football games,” Aikman said after the game on the network.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who has coached Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Brett Favre and won a Super Bowl with future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, said he never seen a quarterback play a better game.
“That’s as good as I’ve seen, that’s for sure,” McCarthy said. “I anticipated Dak Prescott to respond because of how much much he puts into it. He puts the time and he does all the extra stuff and does all the little things that are needed to be a highly successful quarterback in this league. I’m not surprised at all that he responded.”
Prescott started auspiciously, missing his first three passes and the offense went 3-and-out in the first two drives.
But then he went on a historic roll leading the Cowboys to touchdowns on four straight drives to end the first half and to open the third quarter.
They marched 80 yards on seven plays, 80 yards on 15 plays and 91 yards on 11 plays.
The scores included passes of 22 and 11 yards to tight end Dalton Schultz and 1-yard run from Prescott.
He drove the Cowboys 86 yards on 8 plays on their first possession of the third quarter.
His 2-yard pass to Michael Gallup made it 24-0
After punting once, Prescott delivered the dagger with an 18-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb to make the score 31-6 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, sending the Buccaneers fans home and the remaining Cowboys fans into delirium.
Prescott and his Cowboys teammates never doubted.
“He probably gets talked about more than any football player there is right now,” guard Zack Martin said. So you can’t get him down. He’s gonna come out and he’s gonna keep swinging. And that’s what he did. That is the way he is wired. He has been through a lot of stuff in life. He’s battled through and persevered through it. So playing football is nothing to him. It’s just fodder.”
Said Lamb: “Dak showed that he’s a warrior. He’s a baller and he came out slinging it off the rip. I feel like it was a statement game for him.”
“He did what he was supposed to do,” linebacker Micah Parsons said. “We all expect it. Sometimes, it’s unfair, unjust because of who we play for and the standard we have. He holds it well. He steps up when he has too.”
And again there were no interceptions.
“I’ve had confidence all along,” Prescott said. “I’m sure it makes other people feel better. But yeah, its good to finish the game without one but I had no doubt that we were going to have a game like this and that I could be clean with the ball.”
He was fresh and clean against the Buccaneers like no Cowboys quarterback ever
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 9:37 AM.
