Well, that didn’t work.
Last week, I wrote a detailed tape piece about the multiple reasons behind Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s unusual interception stretch in the month of December. Prescott threw eight interceptions to 12 touchdowns in five games last month, though he seemed to believe he had that issue on the run in time for the regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders on January 8.
“I don’t worry about that,” Prescott said after the Cowboys’ 23-17 Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans, in which he threw two interceptions — both to safety Kevin Byard. Now, the questions were about this affecting his team in the playoffs.
“I don’t sit there and think of that, ‘Oh, this is going to continue to happen.’ As much as anything I have got to fix the ones on my end and I’ve just got to make sure the receivers and everybody that may take part in them are focused and understand that we don’t have a lot of opportunities as we move forward these last games and all these playoff games. Every drive matters, and we have to play every play, every drive, like it is to win the game and that’s the reality of it when you get to the postseason. So, it is just heightening our focus, and understanding, for me, the risk versus the reward, rather it is a tight window or not. Everybody being on the same page understanding the magnitude of each play.”
Well, nobody is on the same page at this point. In Dallas’ 26-6 Sunday loss to Washington, Prescott completed just 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 45.8.
This marked Prescott’s seventh straight game with an interception; the most for any Cowboys quarterback since 2004. when Vinny Testaverde (!!!) threw picks in nine straight games for Dallas… at age 41. Prescott tied with Houston’s Davis Mills for the NFL’s most interceptions with 15, and the most pick-sixes with three — and Prescott only played in 12 games in the regular season. All three of Prescott’s pick-sixes have come since Week 15, including one against the Commanders that could have easily happened twice.
Since Week 12, when this interception festival really started? Well, it’s not just the interceptions. Among quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts over that span of time, Prescott ranks 17th in passer rating (88.0), and 12th in EPA (-0.99),
In that Commanders loss, the Cowboys went three-and-out on 12 of their 17 drives. This is obviously not a recipe for playoff success.
Prescott, who has been asked about these issues all along, was more frank about them following the regular-season finale.
“For me, shi**y, not to use the language but simple as that. Defense I thought gave us a chance, did enough. I mean, obviously put them in some bad positions, us and special teams did. But to hold them to a field goal, get a touchdown. I gave a touchdown on an interception, so defense did enough obviously. For offense, just completely not who we are. I don’t think I’ve seen us like that in damn sure the last two years. Something that as much as you want to burn the tape and move forward, there’s a lot we can learn from and get better and use this tape.”
Now, the Cowboys have to travel to Tampa to face a Buccaneers team that beat them 19-3 in Week 1. In that game, Prescott completed 14 of 29 passes for 134 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 47.2. He suffered a thumb injury in the fourth quarter that cost him the next five games, and outside of fits and starts through the season, Prescott has struggled to string together the kinds of performances we’ve expected from him throughout his career.
In my prior piece on Prescott, I did my best to detail everything that’s wrong with Dallas’ offense, and its quarterback. Now, with Prescott set to take the field against his Week 1 nemesis, it’s time to look at how any of this can be corrected.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).
[mm-video type=video id=01gnwcpesg2bxcedarz1 playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gnwcpesg2bxcedarz1/01gnwcpesg2bxcedarz1-74b62344c2d3cccbfde62b6eee41d51b.jpg]