Through four games in the 2020 season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was putting up numbers that were unknown to the NFL at the time. Averaging an absurd 422.5 passing yards per game, Prescott was on pace to break the NFL season passing record by over 1,000 yards. Things lined up for a Dallas team with a struggling defense and offensive weapons galore.
The record-breaking campaign was of course stopped short by Prescott’s season-ending injury but the question lies: can Prescott be the first quarterback to put up 6,000 passing yards? ESPN ranked the quarterbacks who could reach the elusive 6,000-yard threshold, and who was on the top?
None other than the newly-signed franchise quarterback in Dallas.
You were expecting to see Mahomes here, weren’t you? Let me explain. Prescott finished second in passing yards in 2019 (4,902) and was on a 17-game pace of 7,183 yards in four full games last season prior to suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Prescott has completed 66% of his career pass attempts (peaking at 68% in 2018 and 2020) and he has finished top-five in YPA in three of his five seasons (including 2019 and 2020). His 9.4-yard average depth of target (aDOT) in 2019 ranked fourth in the NFL. Prescott will benefit greatly from Mike McCarthy’s offense.
In ESPN writer Mike Clay’s criteria, there were six boxes to be checked to be eligible to potentially reach 6,000 passing yards in a season. Prescott was the only quarterback to check every single box and it doesn’t just stop there.
In 2021, Prescott welcomes back a healthy offensive line, led by perennial All-Pros Zack Martin and Tyron Smith. After the loss of center Travis Frederick to retirement, Tyler Biadisz had the chance to learn within the system and looks to be the center in the middle of the Dallas offensive wall.
Now, add a lean Ezekiel Elliott, sophomore CeeDee Lamb, healthy Blake Jarwin, and the consistent success of receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup to that equation. Oh, and Prescott gets the 17th game in addition to what could be a monstrous comeback season with some hardware to go alongside it.
On the other side of the ball, the Dallas defense is expected to improve under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but odds are Prescott is going to need to show some heroics in a multitude of games like seasons past. If the Cowboys find themselves in shootouts during the 2021 season, Prescott’s stats are going to ramp up.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes might seem to be the favorite to break the passing record held by Hall of Famer Peyton Manning but the odds favor Prescott to shatter it. Let it be known, though, that Prescott isn’t a fan of reaching 6,000 yards and wants this Cowboys team to be a well-balanced machine.
“I don’t want to throw for 6,000 yards, to be honest with you. That means we’re not running the ball. That means we’re not probably doing the things we need to do to be a balanced, winning team. Sure, it would be great to have those numbers and to break that or to have that record or whatever it is. But it’s not something that I put in my head.”
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