Through the years, Dak Prescott has gotten a lot of criticism he probably didn’t deserve. Tony Romo dealt with the same thing. It’s part of being the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
This season, Prescott deserves the scorn.
Prescott signed a historic four-year, $240 million deal before this season started, and then his play has fallen well short of that mark. Prescott’s difficult season continued with another Cowboys loss, this one on Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have had their issues too, but got back to 4-4 with the 30-24 win. The Cowboys are going the other way, with their star quarterback struggling to get much going and turning it over too often.
Prescott had multiple interceptions in a game for the fourth time this season, and produced nothing in the third quarter when the game was getting away from Dallas. Then in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, with a chance to take the lead, Prescott threw four straight incompletions and the Cowboys turned it over on downs. The Cowboys never got the ball back.
The 49ers have had their struggles too, but got back to 4-4 with the win. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are going the other way, with their star quarterback struggling to get much going and turning it over too often. Prescott had multiple interceptions in a game for the fourth time this season, and produced nothing in the third quarter when the game was getting away from Dallas.
The Cowboys’ season isn’t dead at 3-4. And the hole Dallas has dug is way more complex than putting it all at the feet of the quarterback. But Prescott is the most visible player on the roster, the highest paid player in NFL history, and his shortcomings are mirroring the Cowboys’ season that is slipping away fast.
Both teams were desperate for a win. The Cowboys were the ones who played like it in the first half.
The 49ers were sloppy. A 66-yard touchdown to Deebo Samuel Sr. was wiped off the board due to a holding penalty, one of several first-half penalties that set the 49ers back. The offense didn’t score a touchdown before halftime.
The Cowboys weren’t much better, but they were good enough to have a 10-6 halftime lead. Ezekiel Elliott, filling in as the main back when Rico Dowdle became ill before the game, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys’ defense did a solid job containing the 49ers. Dallas has had stretches of terrible play this season but played hard and mostly well in the first half against San Francisco.
And it didn’t take long in the second half for the Cowboys to unravel all the good they had done before halftime.
The 49ers finally got things going early in the third quarter. George Kittle, who has been a highlight for a banged up San Francisco offense all season, had a great play for a 43-yard gain to set up a touchdown run by Isaac Guerendo to give the 49ers a 13-10 lead.
Then Prescott made a huge mistake that helped turn the game in San Francisco’s favor.
Prescott was rolling right on a third down and he threw to a heavily covered CeeDee Lamb. Prescott’s pass went right to cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who made a nice catch to haul in the interception and land in bounds. There was nowhere for Prescott to go with the pass but he forced it anyway. That set up a touchdown from Kittle and San Francisco led 20-10.
That’s how the Cowboys’ season is going. They played a good enough half to lead on the road at halftime. And with just a few mistakes in the first few minutes of the third quarter, they turned a halftime lead into a 10-point deficit. In the Cowboys’ first three series of the second half, as the game slipped away, they ran nine plays and gained 15 yards with no first downs and Prescott’s interception.
The Cowboys rallied and a Lamb touchdown, his second of the fourth quarter, with 3:32 left cut San Francisco’s lead to 30-24. The Cowboys got a stop and the 49ers had a poor punt, giving Prescott the chance with 3:05 left to drive the Cowboys for a game-winning score. He couldn’t come through. Prescott’s first pass was thrown into heavy coverage and was almost intercepted. After two more incompletions, one a close one to KaVontae Turpin, Prescott threw deep on fourth-and-10 and it was another misfire, and there was no pass interference called on the 49ers.
The 49ers deserve a lot of credit for turning the game around. They’re dealing with many injuries as well, including one to running back Jordan Mason that knocked him out of Sunday’s game, and were in some trouble after a rough first half. But the defense settled in and the offense made enough plays to put the Cowboys in a big hole. They’re back to .500 and the NFC West’s struggles mean the 49ers are still in fine shape to win the division.
The Cowboys came into the season with high hopes, after winning 12 games each of the past three seasons. The postseason hasn’t been good for the Cowboys but you could count on them being one of the NFL’s best teams in the regular season. That’s not the case this season. There are many issues on both sides of the ball. But only one of their players is making $60 million a season. If the Cowboys are going to make anything of this season, it probably starts with their quarterback getting out of his slump.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER36 updates
Sometimes, Dak Precott gets criticized unfairly. This season, he deserves all the scrutiny. The Cowboys are 3-4, and a lot of it starts with their $240 million QB. https://t.co/qybVClAG3H
— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) October 28, 2024
