NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
But given the way Prescott has played through three weeks, the Cowboys would be foolish to view the Mississippi State product as anything less than their permanent starting quarterback.
If Prescott—who on Sunday night completed all but five of 24 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown in a turnover-free victory over the Chicago Bears—continues to perform the way he has three games into his maiden NFL season, he has to remain the guy going forward, even with Romo healthy.
Ninety-nine passes into his NFL career, Prescott has yet to throw an interception. And it's not because they're babying him. The 23-year-old is averaging a solid 7.7 yards per attempt, and he completed six passes for 17 yards or more against the Bears.
What's most encouraging is how he appears to be getting much better on a weekly basis. In a tough-luck Week 1 loss to the New York Giants, Prescott completed a less-than-incredible 25 of his 45 passes. But his completion percentage rose from 55.6 percent that week to 73.3 percent in Week 2 and now 79.2 percent against the Bears. His yards-per-attempt averages and passer ratings have also improved substantially each week.
Sure, the Bears didn't present an overwhelming defensive challenge Sunday. They were missing a slew of key players and were forced to use four rookies in the secondary. This was supposed to be a convincing victory at home.
But neither Prescott nor the Cowboys can control who they play. And a Dallas offense that was missing stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith deserves credit for taking what the Bears gave them while avoiding major mistakes Sunday night.
Thirty-one points, 25 first downs, 447 total yards. That'll do.
Since dropping the opener to the Giants, Prescott has led the Cowboys to a road victory over the reigning NFC East champion Washington Commanders and a home win in which they dominated weaker competition.
And "led" is the key word there, because the kid is in complete and utter control—in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage and inside and outside the pocket.
"The thing that's impressed me the most is just watching him stand in the pocket," said NBC's Cris Collinsworth during the broadcast, before comparing Prescott's ability to "run the show" to that of Tom Brady.
Prescott can also take off, which he demonstrated Sunday. This is a guy who scored 41 rushing touchdowns during his four years at Mississippi State, rushing for more than 500 yards in each of his three full seasons as a starter. And after scrambling only three times for 18 yards during the first two weeks of the season, he took off four times for 36 yards while scoring a rushing touchdown against the Bears.
But he isn't relying on his legs unless absolutely necessary—until the play has clearly broken down and he's made his secondary reads.
Essentially, the biggest surprise rookie quarterback in a year of surprise rookie quarterbacks doesn't look like a rookie quarterback.
Surprise!
Calm, cool, collected. Remarkably quick release, top-notch ability to scan the field. He's the complete package, which makes it easy to wonder how 134 players and seven quarterbacks went before him in the 2016 NFL draft.
Prescott and Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles have clearly been the best of that batch. His 7.7 yards-per-attempt average ranks first among those quarterbacks, and his 93.3 rating now ranks 12th in football.
None of that means Prescott is guaranteed to succeed throughout his career, throughout the 2016 season or even next week when he and the Cowboys face the San Francisco 49ers. We've seen rookies take the league by storm for longer stretches before before fading just as quickly from glory.
It's entirely possible that'll happen to Prescott. It's entirely possible he's only experiencing all of this success because opposing defenses have yet to figure him out, and that could change as more game tape is produced.
But until or unless that happens, the Cowboys would be crazy to risk attempting to fix what ain't broke by benching Prescott in favor of a healthy Romo.
As Cowboys legend Deion Sanders said late Sunday night on NFL Network, Dallas has to ride the wave Dak Prescott has created—even if that means keeping a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback on the sideline.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.
Follow @Brad_Gagnon
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...