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It’s Time to Stop Underrating Dak Prescott
The Dallas quarterback has quietly been one of the most productive passers in the NFL, and now he’ll face his greatest challenge yet: guiding the Cowboys to the playoffs without Ezekiel Elliott
BY DANNY KELLY NOV 10, 2017, 8:30AM EST TWEET
We’re not talking about Dak Prescott enough.
Eagles signal-caller Carson Wentz has deservedly stolen some attention in the NFC East, throwing 23 touchdowns and just five picks to lead Philly to an 8-1 record. Deshaun Watson’s white-hot start, in which he threw 19 scores in seven games to revive a flat-lining Houston offense, served as a Texas-sized distraction, too. Add in the seemingly never-ending series of holds and reinstatements of Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension, Jerry Jones’s apparent plan to block Roger Goodell’s extension, and the fact that the Cowboys just haven’t been quite as dominant as they were last year, and Prescott’s incredible play this season has flown under the radar.
Some had wondered whether a second-year regression for last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year—the so-called sophomore slump—was coming. As teams spent the offseason game-planning to take away Prescott’s biggest strengths—his legs, his best throws, and his favorite plays—it was fair to wonder whether he’d struggle to live up to what was probably the best performance we’ve ever seen from a rookie quarterback. But that decline quietly never came; Prescott has adapted to the new looks teams have thrown at him and has proved he’s here to stay as one of the league’s young superstars at the position. He’s second in the NFL in Total QBR; he’s completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,818 yards and 16 touchdowns (tied with Tom Brady for fifth in the NFL) and just four picks at 7.0 yards per attempt. And he’s guided Dallas through its slow start to a 5-3 record at the midway point.
But now, with Elliott set to serve at least the first four games of his six-game suspension, Prescott will face his biggest challenge yet: Running the Cowboys’ offense without the help of the team’s All-Pro back. One of the knocks on Prescott—and one of the reasons, perhaps, that he’s still so underrated—is that he fell into an ideal situation in Dallas, with a dominant ground game to lean on and one of the best offensive lines in the league to protect him. He’s rarely asked to throw the ball all over the gridiron 45 or 50 times a game like some quarterbacks—his total pass attempts and total passing yardage this year rank right in the middle of the pack, league-wide—and he’s relied on Elliott to do a lot of heavy lifting. But while the team will surely miss Elliott’s big-play ability during his suspension, Prescott is capable of carrying this offense.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/11/10/16631464/dak-prescott-underrated-sophomore-year
The Dallas quarterback has quietly been one of the most productive passers in the NFL, and now he’ll face his greatest challenge yet: guiding the Cowboys to the playoffs without Ezekiel Elliott
BY DANNY KELLY NOV 10, 2017, 8:30AM EST TWEET
We’re not talking about Dak Prescott enough.
Eagles signal-caller Carson Wentz has deservedly stolen some attention in the NFC East, throwing 23 touchdowns and just five picks to lead Philly to an 8-1 record. Deshaun Watson’s white-hot start, in which he threw 19 scores in seven games to revive a flat-lining Houston offense, served as a Texas-sized distraction, too. Add in the seemingly never-ending series of holds and reinstatements of Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension, Jerry Jones’s apparent plan to block Roger Goodell’s extension, and the fact that the Cowboys just haven’t been quite as dominant as they were last year, and Prescott’s incredible play this season has flown under the radar.
Some had wondered whether a second-year regression for last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year—the so-called sophomore slump—was coming. As teams spent the offseason game-planning to take away Prescott’s biggest strengths—his legs, his best throws, and his favorite plays—it was fair to wonder whether he’d struggle to live up to what was probably the best performance we’ve ever seen from a rookie quarterback. But that decline quietly never came; Prescott has adapted to the new looks teams have thrown at him and has proved he’s here to stay as one of the league’s young superstars at the position. He’s second in the NFL in Total QBR; he’s completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,818 yards and 16 touchdowns (tied with Tom Brady for fifth in the NFL) and just four picks at 7.0 yards per attempt. And he’s guided Dallas through its slow start to a 5-3 record at the midway point.
But now, with Elliott set to serve at least the first four games of his six-game suspension, Prescott will face his biggest challenge yet: Running the Cowboys’ offense without the help of the team’s All-Pro back. One of the knocks on Prescott—and one of the reasons, perhaps, that he’s still so underrated—is that he fell into an ideal situation in Dallas, with a dominant ground game to lean on and one of the best offensive lines in the league to protect him. He’s rarely asked to throw the ball all over the gridiron 45 or 50 times a game like some quarterbacks—his total pass attempts and total passing yardage this year rank right in the middle of the pack, league-wide—and he’s relied on Elliott to do a lot of heavy lifting. But while the team will surely miss Elliott’s big-play ability during his suspension, Prescott is capable of carrying this offense.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/11/10/16631464/dak-prescott-underrated-sophomore-year
