Dak Prescott had the hot hand in Week 10 versus the Minnesota Vikings but the Dallas Cowboys didn’t ride it sufficiently in the minds of most, and the team dropped a game they could have won. When Prescott began to heat up on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, this time the coaching staff did what they could to fan the flames.
Once the smoke cleared after the 35-27 win at Ford Field, the Cowboys had moved ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East standings. And Prescott had moved even further ahead of his already-lofty status in the eyes of his teammates.
“Dak’s playing the best football I’ve ever seen him play,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told the media following the win. “Definitely took his game to the next level, just the things he’s been able to do: come up to the line, changing plays, getting us in the right place versus certain looks.”
“He’s playing phenomenally,” wideout Amari Cooper said in the visitors’ locker room. “Shoot, we can’t ask for much more out of him. He’s throwing for a lot of yards, he’s really adjusting to the offense, taking command, he knows exactly how to go out there and shred the defense that we’re going up against every week. He’s doing a lot of really great things.”
“A lot of people don’t realize how good he actually is,” echoed receiver Randall Cobb after the game. “I think he’s just continuing to prove people wrong, week in and week out.”
But Prescott’s big day wasn’t just a one-off fireworks show. And it’s not just the second installment of a short-lived hot streak. Put together his numbers from his past 16 games, and it’s plain to see that Dak is straight up dealing.
Had those 16 games been the 2018 regular season, Prescott would have finished in third place among all qualifying league quarterbacks in passing yardage, behind only Ben Roethlisberger and league MVP Patrick Mahomes. His completion percentage would have ranked him 5th, his yards per attempt would have placed 3rd, and his passing touchdowns would have been good enough to tie for 6th.
But Prescott doesn’t feel like he’s maxed out his potential.
“I know I can continue to play better, and play better than I did tonight. That’s what I focus on,” he said in his postgame address. “I don’t think about performances in the past. I’m not going to sit here and look too much on this performance. It’s about what we can do now, how I can get better.”
The 4th-year veteran is quick to downplay his play of late, but the Mississippi State product is entering some historically rarified air for NFL passers.
Prescott’s 400-yard performances came against the Giants in the season opener, against Green Bay in Week 5, and against Detroit on Sunday. He missed the plateau by just three yards in Week 10 versus Minnesota, a game in which he still tossed three touchdowns to go with his 397 yards. That group of outings catapults Prescott into an even more exclusive club.
Once again, Prescott chose not to dwell on the accomplishment when it was pointed out after the victory.
“Sure, it’s great,” Prescott shrugged. “That’s what stats are for, to be able to look back and compare, whatever. But for me, it’s about ‘let’s go get another win’ and maybe I’ll get the fifth one. Just all about moving forward, getting better. It’s humbling anytime to be thrown in with the name Montana.”
Prescott’s monster day was due in no small part to the amount of time he was given in the pocket by the Dallas offensive line. He was sacked just once on the afternoon, his protection causing FOX play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt to quip at one point that Prescott had enough time to “bake a cake” as he went through his reads.
“It gives you a lot of confidence,” Prescott offered. “Gives you so much confidence. You sit back there… there was a couple times I literally went through the progression two or three times.”
He ended up targeting eight different receivers on the day, often rolling out of the pocket and altering his throwing motion while on the move to sidearm several balls to teammates in traffic.
“He has that ability,” coach Jason Garrett remarked in his postgame press conference. “He’s not one of these guys who’s just a statue in the pocket. He can get out and move, he can throw from funny body positions, he can throw going left, he can throw going right. That’s just part of what makes him such a good player, his ability to do that and handle different situations that come up over the course of a play, and he did that a number of times today.
“He just continues to grow and develop as a quarterback.”
Every bit of growth, every step in his development, every 400-yard game further cements Prescott’s place in Dallas. And while he’s put his contract extension talks on the shelf in order to focus on the season, his play is putting him squarely in the elite category. There is now little doubt that soon his pay will be elite, too.
Prescott is on a tear, by whatever measuring stick is being used. And while it will eventually result in some fat figures next to his bank account, his Cowboys teammates are happy for the moment to see him racking up big numbers on the field. They hope he can maintain his hot hand next week in chilly New England.
“Something’s clicking there,” observed Elliott. “He’s throwing the [expletive] out of the ball. We’ve got a bunch of weapons on the outside he can throw it to; it’s hard for a defense to stop him. So keep that thing rolling.”
The record-setting stats and comparative accolades thus far have made for a nice chapter in Dak Prescott’s story. But he’s not interested in re-reading the same pages over and over; he says he’s already focused on his next challenge in the Patriots.
“I told you, we close books fast and we move on.”
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