After suffering a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in which quarterback Cooper Rush threw three interceptions, many are hoping the return of passer Dak Prescott can revitalize the Dallas Cowboys offense. But exactly which Prescott will America’s Team be getting back when he makes his return?
Following yet another injury suffered by the seventh-year quarterback, the question of whether Prescott will return at full-strength is a valid one. In Week One against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a healthy Prescott played one of the worst games of his pro career. Prescott completed just 14 of his 29 passes (48.3%) for 134 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception until a thumb injury sidelined him in the fourth quarter of the 19-3 loss.
In Prescott’s absence over the last five games, the Cowboys have figured out ways to win four times with backup passer Rush as the starter. Now, it appears Dak could make his return this weekend against the 1-4 Detroit Lions. But will it be the same struggling passer we saw in Week One? Or the Prescott that set career-highs just last year?
In 2021, Prescott passed for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. And the Cowboys possessed the highest scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 31.2 points per game. It was a much more poised and confident performance from Prescott than the shaky start we saw from him against the Bucs earlier this season.
Still, that poise and confidence did not result in playoff success, with the Cowboys being ousted in the Wild Card round by the San Francisco 49ers last year. In fact, Dallas has only won a single postseason game with Prescott as their starter, which was back in 2018.
Following various injuries, Prescott now appears to be a much different player than the one that willed the Mississippi State Bulldogs to national relevance in college or the fourth-round rookie who Wally Pipped veteran quarterback Tony Romo into retirement.
While that version of Prescott was a powerful runner who was deadly accurate throwing on the run, this version of Dak seems to prefer to stay in the pocket rather than making plays with his legs anymore. And it’s hard to blame him following the devastating ankle injury he suffered that caused him to miss the bulk of the 2020 season.
Prescott’s rushing numbers, which were a staple of his overall effective play during his first few seasons in Dallas, have dropped significantly in recent years. Over his first three seasons, Dak rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns combined. Since, Prescott has rushed for a total of just 527 yards and seven scores over the last four years, with him only recording 146 yards on the ground and a single rushing touchdown last season despite playing in 16 games.
On a recent episode of the Break podcast via DallasCowboys.com, analyst Bryan Broaddus talked a little about how injuries have impacted Prescott’s play.
“I don’t know what that guy was that played against Tampa. I didn’t know that guy. I was expecting that all these things that have been happening to him, the shoulder, the ankle, the calf, I kinda figured he’s put all that behind him. Go be 2016, 2017. Go be Dak that was through Week 8 of last season. Go be that guy. … Maybe the organization in a way also says ‘Dude, if you don’t have to run, don’t run. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.'”
Bryan Broaddus on Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott
Broaddus would go into more detail about how physicality made Prescott different from other passers and why that missing element could now be impacting his overall play negatively.
“To me, Dak Prescott, when he feels the game, when he feels the hits, when he feels the physicality and gets blood and mud and things on him, I think he’s a better player. He used to be a guy who had body armor. He was a big guy. He’d bang into people and stuff. Now he loses weight, he looks good, ‘best shape of his life’. I’m thinking ‘No, no. I need the other guy who was kind of a tank. That’s the guy who was kinda banging into people and stiff-arming guys up the sidelines with his throwing hand.’ He’s not going to be an elite quarterback when it comes to touch and accuracy and all those things. What makes him different than the other guys is his toughness. And you take that toughness away from him or his ability to play with a little recklessness, I think it makes him a different quarterback. And I don’t know if it’s necessarily a good thing with him.”
It’s hard to argue against the fact that Dak Prescott would be more effective if he reintroduced the dual-threat element back into the Dallas Cowboys offense. Yet, his recent rash of injuries would suggest the 29-year old passer may no longer see that as a viable option in order to avoid missing games like he’s done for most of this season. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts to improve his play within the pocket, Prescott may never be as effective as he once was when opposing defenses considered him to be a true dual-threat quarterback.
