Cowboys: Betting expert has bold expectations for Dak Prescott in 2022
When the Dallas Cowboys take the field at AT&T Stadium to face the Tampa Bay Buccanneers next Sunday night, it will be hard not to think about the last time both squads faced each other. Despite being the first game of the NFL season, it stood firm as one of the best clashes in the […]
When the Dallas Cowboys take the field at AT&T Stadium to face the Tampa Bay Buccanneers next Sunday night, it will be hard not to think about the last time both squads faced each other. Despite being the first game of the NFL season, it stood firm as one of the best clashes in the league even when the year was over.
A big part of that was the outstanding quarterback duel between Dak Prescott and Tom Brady. When it was all said and done, Prescott finished the night with 58 pass attempts. He would go on to average over 30 pass attempts and 282 yards per game over the next five games before hurting his calf.
For those few weeks, Prescott proved he could be among the league's leaders in passing yards. Betting expert Brandon Anderson believes that could continue in 2022. He shared his insight on why he sees the Cowboys' quarterback as a betting opportunity on the Action Network.
In the article, Anderson calls Prescott his "outright pick" to win the passing crown in the 2022 season.
"Now with more time to recover, he could be in for a monster volume year. Kellen Moore has the Cowboys throwing early and often. They finished second in team passing yardage last season and second in attempts in 2020. That could be amplified further if Dallas’ defense regresses as expected, forcing Prescott to throw more often instead of protecting leads. Prescott had nearly 600 attempts in 2021 (even after missing a game and playing hurt), so he could cross 650 this season and maybe even approach 700."
Of course, Anderson understands it's not only about passing volume but also about efficiency. For Prescott and the Cowboys to lead the league in passing they will have to be efficient.
This proves particularly challenging with a huge question mark at left tackle after Tyron Smith's injury. Not to mention, the only experienced wide receiver for Dallas in Week 1 will be CeeDee Lamb.
Even still, Anderson believes Prescott can pull it off.
"If Prescott stops at 650 passes and 7.5 YPA, he probably falls short of this crown at 4,875 yards. But remember, that’s a low-end outlook. Add in a few attempts and a slight uptick in efficiency and Prescott finishes well north of 5,000. He’s very much in play for this crown and is actually my projected leader at 5,181 yards. He shapes up similarly to Brady last year, with a leaky defense that led to huge volume."
I would question the "leaky defense" at the end, but it's no secret the Cowboys did allow big plays last year and had trouble stopping the run. They hope to fix these issues this season but whether or not they're able to remain to be seen.
Be that as it may, Cowboys fans should be encouraged to learn Dak will belong back in the conversation as a candidate for the NFL's passing leader. With so many question marks on offense, they'll need him to step up in the biggest way possible.
You can read all of Anderson's analysis here.
Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
