Advanced stats debunk silly narratives about Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott has been back for nine games now for the Dallas Cowboys after fracturing his thumb. Unfortunately, in four of them, he's thrown multiple interceptions. Predictably, the bashing of Prescott's play, and his salary, have been talked about at nauseum. Granted, Prescott needs to do a better job of protecting the football, which he's […]
Dak Prescott has been back for nine games now for the Dallas Cowboys after fracturing his thumb. Unfortunately, in four of them, he's thrown multiple interceptions. Predictably, the bashing of Prescott's play, and his salary, have been talked about at nauseum.
Granted, Prescott needs to do a better job of protecting the football, which he's taken responsibility for. Against the Eagles on Sunday, he threw an awful interception in the first quarter that was run back for a touchdown by defensive end Josh Sweat. However, what Prescott did after that was nothing short of extraordinary.
Prescott completed all 24 of his passes against zone coverage for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He earned a perfect passing score of 99 against zone coverage according to Next Gen Stats, making him the first player since 2018 to do so.
That is an insanely good stat, to say the least.
Prescott ended up completing 27 of his 35 passes against the Eagles, but he saved his best for a crucial moment. With the Cowboys down seven and facing a 3rd and 30 with just over eight minutes left in the 4th quarter, Prescott found newly acquired wide receiver T.Y. Hilton for a 52-yard gain inside the red zone, his first reception as Cowboy.
The best quarterbacks in the NFL show up against the toughest competition. Philadelphia has the league's top passing defense, and Prescott carved them up like a Thanksgiving turkey, although it was Christmas Eve. Needless to say, Prescott was in the holiday spirit in Week 16.
It's easy to judge a quarterback based on a bad play here or a bad play there. However, every signal-caller makes mistakes, but it's how they handle adversity that tells what they're made of. More times than not, Prescott has bounced back from his shortcomings, as he did versus the Eagles after his interception when he went into another orbit.
"That's just been kinda my luck here recently," Prescott said. "It was just about moving on. I know who I am, I know the type of player that I am, I know what I'm capable of. This team believes in me and that's all I did. Just keep my head down and keep playing, focused in and we were able to come out with this one."
Cool, calm, and collected. That's a perfect description of Prescott and the reason why the Cowboys always have a chance when he's under center.
Feature image via Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
