Dak Prescott working hard to lower his number of interceptions in 2023
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted Dak Prescott on the number of interceptions that he would throw during the 2023 season. The accurate quote is: “ I don’t have those tipped interceptions this year.”
Though the NFL season is two months away, the Dallas Cowboys remain a central focus for debates and discussions.
The latest involved quarterback Dak Prescott, who tied for the most interceptions thrown in the NFL last season — with 15 — while playing in 12 games. The Cowboys lost in the NFC Divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers, with Prescott throwing two more interceptions. As Prescott enters his eighth season in Dallas, some on talk-shows and social media questioned whether he is able to take the Cowboys to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1996.
At his youth training camp in Frisco earlier this month, Prescott responded to the discourse across social media.
“We are a talking point,” Prescott said. “As you find something to talk about that’s the first thing to go to.”
As the quarterback of the most valuable sports team in the world, Prescott is used to the talk about him. He’s been hearing it since his rookie season in 2016, when the Cowboys also lost in the NFC Divisional round.
Of his 15 interceptions, 12 were thrown in the first half of the game, 14 were thrown on Dallas’ side of the field, three were returned for a touchdown and six were thrown in the Cowboys’ four losses with Prescott starting.
“I know who I am, and you can go back and take away half of those off drops off,” Prescott said. “I’m not saying it’s on the receiver, but if you cut that in half then we start talking about those, nobody is talking about it.”
Prescott said he doesn’t blame his receivers for a tipped or dropped pass that leads to an interception, and also said some interceptions derived from miscommunications with his targets, which the team plans on fixing this offseason.
“Some of it is the offense and them understanding exactly where we are,” Prescott said. “Mike (McCarthy) does an amazing job with those guys. They know where to be, why to be, when they’re getting looked at. That’s going to be a big jump.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 7:00 AM.