The Dallas Cowboys did it yet again and Dak Prescott — with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run from smart people both inside the Dallas building and media/analysts from outside — believed this 2023 squad was different.
Why?
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered Saturday’s wildcard round matchup as two-score favorites over the Green. Bay Packers, who have a first-year starting QB and the youngest roster in the NFL.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He came into Sunday’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
Dan Quinn’s unit held their opponent to 18.5 points per game , forced 17 interceptions with their talented pass rush paired with a playmaking secondary and allowed just over 300 yards per game.
But On Saturday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys — who hadn’t loss a game at home this season — were throttled on both sides of the ball by a Packers squad that entered with no pressure or expectations, but believed they could win and out-coach their opponent while executing a perfect game plan.
Prescott and company were out of sync the entire first half and Green Bay continued to thrive offensively, s electing to receive after winning the coming toss and putting a touchdown drive the took over seven minutes together to set the tone. The Green Bay offense couldn’t be stopped and the Dallas Cowboys offense couldn’t function, resulting in stunning 27-7 halftime lead for the Packers.
Dak Prescott had already thrown an interception from his own nine-yard line to Jaire Alexander at the end of the first quarter that led to Packers RB Aaron Jones making it 14-0 within a minute of the second quarter.
The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t sustain offensive possessions and their defense couldn’t stop the young Green Bay offensive attack. A Jordan Love touchdown pass with just over 3 minutes until halftime have the Pack a comfortable 21-0 lead. And on the Cowboys’ next possession Prescott threw a long pass that was picked off by Packers safety Darnell Savage — who retuned it to the house—making it 27-0 in favor of Green Bay with less than two minutes until halftime.
6-Time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy Explains Why Dallas Cowboys Have To Move On From Dak Prescott If They Want Super Bowl Chance
The Cowboys QB absolutely wasn’t the only problem for Dallas on Saturday. From the moment the Packers won the coin toss, elected to receive to make a statement, it was over.
Ultimately Dallas found the end zone at the end of the first half to cut the Packers lead to 27-7 at halftime and one former Pro Bowler believes that’s one of the reasons Prescott played so badly.
Former NFL star defensive tackle and 6-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy annoyed Prescott’s performance after the game and his conclusion was abundantly clear;
Every year, it’s the same story with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
"Every time he needs to have these Super Bowl caliber moments, he struggles"@Geraldini93 and @ChrisRose on Dak's playoff struggles pic.twitter.com/hpSowX0lQx
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) January 15, 2024
His co-host began by asking McCoy if he’s questioning whether Prescott is a Super Bowl caliber QB.
“Well you have to, because when he’s gotten to these moments in his NFL career, this is what happens. I was asked earlier in the year who I thought were elite quarterbacks, and my issue with Dak was questioning whether he was going to protect the football in key moments. And this happens year after year. It happened last year, it happened the year before. He just struggles in these moments, I don’t know if he gets a time where he isn’t put in a good position”
McCoy then identified one of Dak Prescott’s flaws that was likely the reason for his struggles on Saturday.
“Dak is not good at playing from behind. He’s not a good off-schedule quarterback If things are going his way, they can run the ball and he can make plays off play action, that’s when he’s at his best. But when he’s from behind, so when Green Bay got this lead, I knew Dak was going to struggle because he’s not great at playing from behind. You see him and CeeDee could not connect, so he starts trying to force it, and then CeeDee can’t make a catch, he throws a pick, and this is just what Dak has a been.
I would be wrong to sit up here and say he’s not a Super Bowl caliber quarterback, because every time he has these Super Bowl caliber moments, he struggles, he fails.
McCoy’s co-host mentioned Dak Prescott is due for an extension but the former Tampa Bay DT had a strong stance on how the Dallas Cowboys should approach the future.
“They they got to make a decision because this is a continued cycle, nothing has changed, tell me what has changed. He’s always putting up big numbers we see Dak at the top of the stats every year, but then we get to the playoffs and we say these same things. He;’s turning the ball over. Year after year after year, When is it going to change?”
While it’s highly unlikely the Dallas moves on from Dak Prescott due to his contract situation, McCoy clearly believes he is never going to take the Dallas Cowboys to the promised land. While it would be stunning if a move was made involving Prescott, Mike McCarthy could absolutely be out as head coach.
1 Comment
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAK needs gone, but so does Jerry & Son as GM’s