Everything Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said after his worst game of season
The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos 44-24 on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 19 of 31 passes for 188 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. That performance matched his lowest yardage total of the season (Week 1 at Philadelphia), and it was only the second time this season he threw two interceptions in a game (Week 3 at Chicago).
Here’s everything he said to the media after the game:
On the offense’s inability to build momentum
“Surprised, for sure. That’s a good word to use. Frustrated as well. Frustrating. As you said, right, what we’ve been doing, what we’re capable of doing. Didn’t really ever get it going. Had an opportunity right there on the first drive getting down in the red zone, being able to have a chance to put seven [points] up and settling for a field goal. That was the start of it, and then the rest just kind of followed that and us not making the plays that were necessary. Credit to those guys. Credit to [Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph], making it tough on us. They got the best of us, that’s for sure.”
On his two interceptions
“Yes, for sure. Definitely a force that one before half. They were playing two-man. ‘Ferg’ [tight end Jake Ferguson] was working the slant to the left, two minutes, our leverage wasn’t there, came back and was hoping that maybe me and ‘Ferg’ could just kind of make a ballplayer’s play. The defensive back made the better play. He turned faster than I wanted him to. ‘Ferg’ was more on top of him, so the back shoulder wasn’t quite the throw, and that’s what I threw. He made the catch. Yes, just a force right there. And then the one later just pure miscommunication. [Wide receiver] CeeDee [Lamb] wanted to go around a guy and keep going. I was expecting him to sit it down right and just kind of trust throw right there. The guy made a hell of a play. So that’s just us having to be on the same page, especially in the red zone, especially in a game like this one we’re trying to come back and get in the end zone. Two unacceptable plays, really.”
On the interception at the end of the first half
“Yes, I definitely pressed there. I wouldn’t say that I was trying, ‘Oh let’s go get a touchdown,’ but was definitely trying to make the field goal easier. Was trying to get more than, I still think we probably needed five or so [yards]. Maybe we didn’t need anything with [kicker] Brandon [Aubrey]. Trying to make it easier on him. Like I said, we were really working the slant. Slant wasn’t there, great defensive call there. Two-man was a great call versus the play that we had. Like I said, I forced the throw, and it wasn’t the type of throw that was required in that situation and really just should’ve gotten off of that and progressed. To your point, that was one of those maybe being frustrated trying to keep up. Just can’t do that. Period.”
On if he noticed when Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II is off the field
“Yes, for sure. Definitely noticed that. It’s a lot that goes into that. You have two elite guys out at receiver. I honestly don’t really care who’s guarding them. No disrespect to the guys out there, even Surtain. So, I mean, it’s not like, ‘Oh he’s out there, I need to attack this other guy.’ I was just fine attacking 21 [Broncos cornerback Riley Moss], but the opportunities, we didn’t make them when they presented themselves and they did a better job.”
On how he defines their record
“We have to find consistency, honestly. Frustrated part of that is you know coming out here, and we lost a game playing our best. You can somewhat live with that. But when we didn’t play anything close to that and we, I think ‘Schotty’ [Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer] said it in there, ‘If there’s somebody that feels like they played their best, come forward and say it.’ I don’t know if there’s any player in that locker room that’s going to feel that way. Talking about identity, trying to find it. We were far from anything we’ve been, especially on the offensive side of the ball today. That’s just as frustrating as anything is we didn’t even play to our identity. We didn’t play to our standard. We have to find a way to do that on the road. Once again, credit them, credit the crowd, credit the defensive coordinator and those guys out there playing. They did a hell of a job, but we have to overcome that especially with the players and the people that we’ve got.”
On if the Broncos did anything to blanket Ferguson
“Something I have to go back and look at. It’s crazy like, I mean especially when I heard that it stung even more, right? ‘Ferg’ doesn’t have a catch, a guy that’s been, what, five or six catches every game? Just a consistent target. Us not being able to get him the ball. I know that one play or so that me and him both didn’t do what the defense presented, right? That probably took the target away from him, but that’s just one. They knew what we were trying to do, they know who our top targets were, and they did a good job of taking those away. When they didn’t completely take them away, they made it hard on us to take advantage of whether it be the pass rusher or the scheme that they had in coverage.”
On how they will make sure this loss doesn’t lead to more
“We have people that care about this game and just breaking down the team in the locker room. The old saying, adversity reveals character, and also it builds it. Who are we? Just challenge everybody, myself included, to look in the mirror and [ask], ‘Are we giving enough? Are you giving enough? Throughout the week, throughout your preparation, and particular on game day to make sure you’re giving your best performance.’ I know the coaches, I know the men in that building. I know how pissed we all are from this, and I know the way that we’re going to get back to work and be ready for Monday night. It’s a hell of business we’re in. It’s a tough business, but I wouldn’t choose anything else and wouldn’t choose any other men than those guys in that locker room and those coaches.
“We’re going to come together and make sure this doesn’t turn into two games, and more importantly we need to find a way to get a streak going on, a winning streak. I know I talked to you about that Thursday, that was the most important thing to me. So to come out here and not even get close to that is very, very frustrating as the leader of this team. It’s about making sure we get back to practice, we get back to the details and the intentionality of what we’re trying to do on every phase and every drill and everything that we do to make sure we come out here Monday, next Monday or whenever it is, and put a better performance. Then we can try to stack two [wins], but we have to go get one.”
On why the Broncos are so dominant at home
“I mean No. 1, the crowd helps. That crowd noise was tough. You saw a couple of presnap penalties. I had one myself. They do a good job there, right, and then they play that snap count, they play the silent count, those edge rushers, the D-line. That’s why they lead in sacks. That’s why they lead in third down. Sure they’re a stat-driven team, but when you play them you can see why. They do a good job of it. Once again, all the credit to them, but we didn’t play anywhere close to our standard.”
On his message to the defense
“It’s tough. They have a lot of guys out, they have a lot of guys down, right? Guys are having to step up, and so it’s just about taking advantage of your opportunity, whoever’s in there and believing in them. Believing. I don’t even need to know if I need to go anywhere further than that. Believing in yourself, believing in the scheme, and that just comes through communication and trust. I always say, confidence is earned. We have to go back on all phases and earn it, and earn the confidence to come out here and have a good game. That starts tomorrow. That starts in practice. Sunday’s just the result of throughout the week.”
On how they can limit presnap penalties on the road
“Just focus. Simple, focus. Communication first and then focus. We have to be elite at communicating. Like I said, the one [penalty] that I had right, I could’ve made a call that changed the snap count or changed the way that we’re approaching it so everyone understood it. We didn’t, so you just have to make sure those things don’t happen because in a game like this against a team like this that you know they want to play second down like third down, the worst you can do is get behind the chains. So we did that a couple times in a couple of drives, and that ultimately hurt us.”
On how difficult it is at this point in the season to find consistency as a team
“Me personally, I don’t think it’s hard. That’s what I enjoy about being the leader of this team, is trying to echo my thoughts to the other guys. It’s about what you’re doing. It’s about what you’re putting into this game, and it’s not just on Sunday, right? Sunday is a result of the week. It’s about when you’re in the building, for one thing, but when you’re outside of the building, the film study you’re doing. All the work that you’re putting in individually to make sure that you don’t let your teammates down, and more importantly, that you’re ready to make the plays when they come your way. As I said, adversity reveals character, and again it builds character. So, we just have to get back to the basics. We have to get back to practicing the right way, practicing hard, which we do. I’m not saying that we don’t, but we’ve got to make sure practice carries over into Sunday and this week, it didn’t.”
On how he felt about his six carries for 31 yards
“I felt great, but that’s not the game plan. Me running six times for that many yards, we’ll take it, especially in a win, but that doesn’t mean zip when you lose, right? Those are desperation yards. Those are trying to get away from pressure, trying to make something happen. Obviously I was able to extend a couple of first downs, which is huge, and that is a big part of it, but I don’t think that anybody would come to this game saying, ‘We’ll take that,’ especially not in a loss. So you give me those stats and a win, sounds great, and I’ll give you a much better answer, but not what we’re trying to do.”
On if he considered taking advantage of new players filling in for injured Broncos players
“Yes, sure. I heard Schotty’s answer. It’s tough. You have two guys like that. No disrespect to Moss over there, but that’s CeeDee Lamb. I’m going to attack. It’s hard to second-guess myself, I’m not going to second-guess myself. So you can look back at it and say, ‘Yes, G.P. [wide receiver George Pickens] did win, right? And G.P. is always going to win, that’s who he is. But CeeDee is as well. So it’s that whole, ‘Which one do you want to take?’ I can’t second-guess myself. We score a touchdown right there and look at the film and you see G.P. is open right there, you’re not going say, ‘Dang, you should have went to G.P.’”
On the team alternating between wins and losses
“Very tough because you want to put a streak together and talking about identity, trying to find identity, right? It’s hard to even give you an identity until we put a couple of games together in a row. Right now, our identity is up and down, and that’s not anything I’m proud and not anything anybody in that locker room should be proud of, on either side of the ball or coaches. Our identity right now is inconsistent, and that’s unacceptable, and we have to be better. We have to find a way to be consistent, whether it’s at home, on the road, regardless. We’re too good. We have too many players. We have great coaches. [Defensive end Jadeveon] Clowney was just saying in the locker room, ‘This roster should not be going up and down like we’re doing.’ A guy like that, when he says it, and he says he’s been on seven teams, that hits, that’s real. We just have to look in the mirror, like I challenged the guys, what can we do more?”
On if a trade can do something for the team to jump-start the season
“Yes, but then again, I trust and I like the guys that we have. I honestly do. That’s not just a political answer or whatever it is. If you see some of the games we’ve won and, honestly, even some of the ties, and some of the games we’ve lost, our roster is OK. Can it be better? That’s for you guys to write about and to judge. I trust those guys. We have to be better at everything that we do. Getting a trade right takes opportunities and plays away from somebody else. So just echo to those people or to the guys in the locker room, forget a trade. Do more right. Shut that talk up, whether it be offense, whether it be defense, whatever position group that you guys are alluding to, step up and shut the talk up.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 10:38 PM.
