Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott says he’s frustrated.
He’s frustrated that he’s been playing so poorly lately, and he certainly hasn’t been playing up to the four-year, $240 million contract extension owner Jerry Jones gave him before the season began.
He’s frustrated, and one has to imagine Jones is frustrated as well.
Coming off a 30-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on “Sunday Night Football”, the Cowboys now have a losing record at 3-4 and they’ve lost two-straight. Prescott has thrown two touchdowns compared to four interceptions in the past two losses. Going back to the start of October, he’s thrown four touchdowns compared to six interceptions.
“Me, personally, I’m frustrated,” Prescott said after the loss to San Francisco, according to the team website. “I’m frustrated with myself and my play. I know the rest of the guys are [too], sitting at 3-4, but I can tell you that nobody is shaken or giving up. Frustration is very high, but it’s a long season. A lot is still ahead of us. But, frustrated, and that’s the best way I can put it. … They made the plays when they needed to and we didn’t. We just haven’t made the plays and they’ve made them more than us.”
Saying that the 49ers made the plays that the Cowboys didn’t is a simplified way of looking at it. Another way to look at it would be to have an honest conversation about Prescott. He hasn’t been good enough, and right now, any hopes Jones and the Cowboys have of seeing another Super Bowls rest on his mediocre shoulder.
He’s holding the Cowboys back, and that was 100-percent obvious in the loss to the 49ers.
Dak Prescott cost the Cowboys the game against the 49ers
Take his first interception of the game, which was a lame duck ball deep down the sideline.
Wideout KaVontae Turpin did have a step on his defender, but San Francisco safety Ji’Ayir Brown was closing quickly over the top. This was a throw that demanded some spin and a ton of accuracy, but Prescott floated it up there like it was a punt. Even worse, he threw it short, which made it an easy play for Brown to come back on.
Despite the interception, Dallas actually went into halftime up 10-6. The 49ers responded right away out of half with an impressive touchdown drive, which meant that it was on Prescott and the Cowboys to come up with a response themselves. Instead of meet the moment, though, three plays into that next drive Prescott threw another pick on another ill-advised pass.
“[I need to] not turn the ball over, period. I don’t have to be perfect, but I damn sure can’t have the turnovers,” Prescott said after the game.
“I’ve just gotta eat that [first throw] and take that sack. And the second one was as boneheaded of an interception as I’ve had,” he continued. “I tried to make a play, and had too much confidence in myself at that moment. Probably should’ve just thrown it away. I wish I would’ve put some more heat on it to CeeDee [Lamb] or just out of bounds. That one hurt, to start off the third quarter that way allowed them to get a touchdown there. Then look at the final score and a touchdown was the difference.”
Prescott evaluated himself perfectly there. It’s frustrating because he’s from all accounts a tremendous person and leader, and he’s never been one to shy away from a tough self-scout. He’s never been afraid to take accountability.
Perhaps he does have too much confidence in his abilities at this point in his career. He is nine seasons in, after all, and he’s been banged up more than many of his contemporaries. Or, perhaps he’s just not that good anymore. It’s not like he’s been a superstar throughout his career anyhow. While he has indeed been a Top 10 quarterback in the NFL at times, he’s always been more of a “second tier” star than one of the quarterbacks you know you can win a Super Bowl with if everything lines up right.
The issue for Prescott is that there have been multiple times throughout his career where everything else has lined up right for the Cowboys, but he’s held them back.
There has to be somewhat of a reckoning within himself between the leader that he is and the quarterback that he is. Either he has to realize that he doesn’t have “it” anymore, or he needs to take a longer look in the mirror and realize that these mistakes are absolutely killing his team.
At the very least, he is saying the right things. After a while, though, talk becomes cheap — especially in Dallas.
“Once again, we put ourselves behind in the turnover battle,” said Prescott. “That’s on me and I can’t have that and win games. I’ve got to clean that up, period.”
