Heading into the 2016-17 NFL season, the talk of the Dallas Cowboys was about the offense and the new added dynamic of the fourth pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Ezekiel Elliott. Two weeks into the season and the talk of the Cowboys isn't Elliott. It isn't Dez Bryant. It's fourth round pick Dak Prescott.
Tony Romo suffered yet another back injury in the third preseason game, which is the sole reason why Prescott was been inserted into the starting position in the first place. It must've been faith for the 135th pick as he has opened eyes all around the league. To Mississipi State Bulldog fans, it isn't a surprise to see their former QB having success.
Back in 2011 Dak redshirted as a true freshman and in 2012 he appeared in 12 games and put up solid statistics, but wasn't in a starting role just yet. 2013 was no different until starting QB Tyler Russell suffered a concussion and resulted in Prescott taking the starting role (woah, so now being the starting QB of the Cowboys must be deja vu all over again). He played in 11 games and finished with 1,940 passing yards, 10 TDs, 7 INTs. He also had 134 carries for 829 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Dak was named the 2013 Liberty Bowl MVP, and those around the Bulldogs started really jumping on the "Dak-wagon."
In 2014, Prescott finally became the full-time starter and he led Mississippi State to a 10-2 record (the first No. 1 ranking in program history (!)). He broke 10 school-records including single season passing yards, total yards of offense, passing touchdowns, and total touchdowns. Prescott would finish eighth in the 2014 Heisman Trophy voting. The recognition all around college football was emerging as in 2015 he was named a 2015 National Player of the Year Candidate.
He joined "elite" college football company in 2015 when he became the fourth player in FBS history to pass for 60 touchdowns and rush for 40 touchdowns in a career, joining Tim Tebow, Colin Kaepernick, and Dan LeFevour.
In his four preseason appearances and two NFL regular season games Prescott has yet to throw an interception, but this isn't something irregular for the Bulldog product as he set the third longest streak of consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception in SEC history with 288 passes. At the end of his college football career, Dak finished third in SEC history in total yards and fourth in total touchdowns.
The SEC would get no love in the 2016 NFL Draft, as despite a very historic last two years at Mississipi State, Prescott wouldn't be selected until the beginning of the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys. Little did Dallas know (or maybe they did?!) that they found a gem.
It wasn't like Prescott assumed the starting role, as he had some luck (unfortunate Moore, of course) with backup QB Kellen Moore breaking his leg in training camp. It was Prescott vs. second-year quarterback Jameill Showers and Prescott didn't disappoint in the preseason. He finished the four games in preseason with 454 yards (78% completion percentage), 5 TDs, 2 rushing TDs, and 0 INTs. Obviously preseason is always assumed as a bad miss-indication for outstanding performances, but Prescott really did catch everyone's attention in the NFL.
Compared to the QBs chosen before him in the NFL Draft (Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, Christian Hackenberg, Jacoby Brissett, Cody Kessler, and Connor Cook) was by far the most efficient (completion percentage wise) and effective.
That brings us two weeks into the NFL season and after evaluating his first two performances there is clearly some work that needs to be done, but nonetheless there is something special brewing in Dallas. It STILL may be too early to label Prescott truly as the future of Dallas, but given his college football history and what he has done thus far in the NFL, I can't see why he couldn't be the next star in Big D. The NFL is changing right in front of our eyes. Some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL (Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers) are dual-threat QBs and given his track record Prescott could very easily be the next player to join that company.
Through his first two games in his career, Prescott has set the NFL record for most passes without an interception as he has thrown 75 passes (passing Warren Moon's record of 72 pass attempts). What better can you ask for from a quarterback who has shown the ability to put points on the board without turning the ball over.
In Week 1 despite the loss to the Giants, Prescott put up decent numbers for his first NFL game. He finished with 227 yards but what he did really well was move the ball downfield and into Giants' territory. Finishing drives and throwing from inside the pocket were two things he clearly struggled with. It looked like Dak did his homework before Week 2, as he looked extremely stellar. He finished with 292 yards on a 73% completion percentage. Prescott also finally got his first NFL TD on a rushing TD. What was more impressive is that Dallas was finishing their drives with touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. Prescott was also much better in the pocket, correcting his second flaw from Week 1.
When it came down to crunch time with his team trailing 23-20 with 10:35 left in the fourth quarter, Prescott led an 11 play, 80-yard 5:50 minute drive to give his team a four-point lead. He hit all his targets and converted on a big 3rd and 11 on the Washington 24 leading to an eventual 4-yard rushing touchdown from Alfred Morris. That drive itself was extremely impressive and a very good sign for Dallas fans.
One of the biggest factors in handing the keys over to Prescott is having the team's support and it already seems like he's slowly earning that respect. In Week 1 the topic of discussion was about how Prescott failed to connect with elite wideout Dez Bryant who only finished with 1 reception for 8 yards in Week 1. Prescott responded in Week 2 by connecting with Bryant 7 times for 102 yards. Not to mention he targeted him a team-high 12 times. That shows a lot coming from a rookie quarterback. The fact that he was able to adjust quickly after one week is something well-worth nothing. It remains to be seen if the connection will continue, but it's something that is still encouraging to see.
After Dallas' Week 2 win Dez spoke about Dak saying, "He's well respected throughout this whole locker room. He's filling in some big shoes and he's doing a damn good job."
Damn good job is right Dez.
Even Al Michaels praised Prescott for his performance on SNF saying "That's no rookie" about the starting QB for Dallas.
Let's also not jump overboard with his first two performances as Prescott has faced No. 20 (Giants) and No. 27 (Redskins) ranked defenses. However, the NFL is the NFL and it isn't easy for a rookie to go mistake free in his first two starts in the NFL. The key for Prescott is progression and whether it's being a bit more aggressive with the ball or converting more on touchdowns on drives rather than settling for field goals, he needs to show that on a weekly basis. He did show that in Week 2 but it needs to continue in order for Dallas to continue to win.
It has been the same old same old for the Dallas Cowboys in the last decade with Romo at the helm. There have many ups, but also many downs. It may not come this season as Dallas could elect to bring Romo back into his starting role when he's ready, but if Dak Prescott continues his strong, turnover-free performances it could be a harder choice than originally thought.
Romo is under contract until 2019, but he is also 36 and the back injuries he is continually suffering and playing through is extremely alarming for Dallas. Despite putting up some incredible statistical years with Dallas, he has also disappointed the Cowboys and its fans in many situations. He isn't to blame for the failure of Dallas to make a deep playoff run either as multiple other factors play into that, but nonetheless he has played a part in it.
Sometimes in life you have to learn to move on from that one girl that mostly makes you happy but still fails at times and to something new and potentially better. The Cowboys need to take a note from life and move on from Romo. It's time for something young and fresh in Dallas and Dak Prescott is exactly that.
