Dak Prescott and the Cowboys could be a seriously dangerous playoff team, and their go-ahead touchdown play shows why
Dak Prescott is playing elite football for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys’ three-win streak is creating all kinds of reactions on holiday weekend. Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden called them the best team in football. Former Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore said they’ll win the Super Bowl if they make it into the postseason—maybe Dallas should give him a call.
While all of that is extremely premature, there’s no doubt the Cowboys are a dangerous squad you don’t want to face right now. And though many factors go into that, it all starts with Dak Prescott, who is playing like a Top 3 quarterback in the NFL right now.
On Sunday’s 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Prescott’s go-ahead touchdown to Javonte Williams shows how well he is playing. But most importantly, it proved his ability to extend plays, a crucial skill for teams trying to go on a serious run. Dallas needs that as they’ll likely need to run the table to aspire for a seat on January football.
To help break down the play, I reached out to A to Z Sports NFL’s Kyle Crabbs, who provides his insight on one of the most important plays of the game.
Expert analysis Cowboys’ go-ahead touchdown shows why Dak Prescott is playing his best football
Kyle: Prescott showcased a perfect example of what the ability to work outside of structure can do for an offense on this critical play in the Cowboys’ upset win. Facing third and goal from the three-yard line, Dallas put star receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb together in a tight alignment to Prescott’s left. The Cowboys ran a classic high-low read, pushing Pickens vertically to run a corner to the back pylon as the outside receiver, while Lamb delayed and ran a flat route from No. 2 and tried to run off Pickens’ vapor trails in the event that the Chiefs’ defenders greedily plastered to Pickens. On this look, Prescott appeared to think about throwing the corner to the back pylon for Pickens but he ultimately turned down the space that was available for a tight window throw as Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie tried to leverage both patterns as the conflict defender.
Prescott’s timing on this play was precisely what was needed, both on the drop and the contemplation of throwing to Pickens and what happened next. Upon turning down the initial concept, he moved off his spot in the pocket to find extra space while WR Ryan Flournoy worked across the back line of the end zone as Prescott’s next option. There were too many bodies between the pair at the line of scrimmage for a throwing window to open, so Prescott’s scramble pushed out to his right, opposite of the initial start of the play. His mobility put horizontal stress on the Chiefs’ defense, who then looked to corral Prescott on the run — and dropping RB Javonte Williams in the process. Williams was Prescott’s last read on this play, a backside swing after checking for protection assignments. And because of the timing of his release and the work of Prescott’s legs, Williams found an easy void for Prescott to flip the ball to for what would go on to be the lead for good.
Mauricio: Prescott has been doing this for years. And while it’s true he needs a signature playoff run to redefine his legacy, it’s also true that he’s one of the best regular season quarterbacks in the NFL today. This season, he and Matthew Stafford have been the best quarterbacks, and it’s not even close.
His ability to extend plays combined with the presence of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at wide receiver is exactly why the NFC should be scared of the prospect of the Cowboys making the playoffs. If they make the cut, they’ll be wild-card team no one will want to face. This is a team with a rising defense, a top quarterback, and the scariest WR duo in the league today.
Oh, and one more thing: An underrated part of the play we just looked at is first-round rookie right guard Tyler Booker stonewalling star DT Chris Jones. Last week, he dominated Jalen Carter. His block makes that play happen as much as Prescott and Williams.
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