The loss in week 17 against Arizona by 25-22 again left serious doubts in the Cowboys offense. And when it comes down to it, the top item to point out will always be Dak Prescott. Of course, after the team’s 5-1 record before the bye week of week 7, it has seen an offense that has been struggling a lot from week 9 onwards to be at a great level.
In fact, even though the team has kept winning and has an 11-5 record, the only two games in which offensive dominance has been seen were in Week 10 against the Falcons and in Week 16 against Washington. For the rest, they have been games that the cowgirl defense has won, enduring results and even scoring.
CeeDee Lamb AGAIN! #DallasCowboys
????: #ATLvsDAL on FOX
????: NFL app pic.twitter.com/HWXBO9sb6H— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
In short, Prescott has drastically lowered his level in the last two months. Of course, as already mentioned, it cannot be denied that it has had its moments. But what has been noticed the most is the inconsistency in the encounters. His trouble reaching the end zone and his passing failures are taking their toll. As seen in their numbers against Arizona, where he achieved a 63.2% completion percentage. Almost 15 percent less than in the duel with Atlanta (77.4) and almost 10 less than in week 16 against Washington (71.8).
Of course, although he achieved three goals, the first of them would be less than a minute and a half from finishing the first half. The offense did not react in time and the game was ended by the NFC West rivals. Leaving Dallas in fourth place in the National Conference and they may have to repeat the game against the Cardinals in the playoffs.
On the board!
???? : #AZvsDAL ???? @NFLonFOX #WPMOYChallenge Prescott pic.twitter.com/CiPej7BLKL
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 2, 2022
Now, you have to make it clear that Prescott has to have a full understanding of the Cowboys offense by now. It is now his sixth season in the franchise, and his third with Kellen Moore as his offensive coordinator. Although he missed most of the 2020 season with a compound fracture in his right ankle, it is no excuse for his performance failures.
Knowing the system too much may work against you a bit. Instead of just making the play, you may be looking to make the perfect play and that’s what you might be failing at. Dak is usually much better at his passing game when he throws the ball on the spot. As the seconds go by, it gets a little more complicated for the QB.
“Obviously you want to make the right play,” Prescott told the media. “But of course, not all the time the perfect play is the correct one. There are many plays and opportunities within an action to advance the ball ”.
Much is made of the game against the Cardinals and the kind of pressure they’ve put on Prescott in previous games. Just as the Broncos and Chiefs did in both weeks 9 and 10. In the particular case of the Cardinals, they managed to disguise their defensive schemes very well.
In this case, the only alternative that Prescott has is to continue studying hours of recordings and see the aspects in which it can be improved. At this point in the season, any small mistake could be serious and it is necessary for the Marshal to be at full throttle for everything to come.
“I have to trust my preparation and study the recordings, see what they do after the snap, read and trust what I’m seeing and react,” said the Cowboy Marshal.
Either way, Troy Aikman was talking about Prescott and the team in general on The Musers 96.7 FM. There he left some statements that make a lot of noise. Especially since the postseason is just around the corner.
“I like this team and I hold it, I like what they have,” Aikman said. But that winning streak is similar to Philadelphia’s. They haven’t really beaten anybody that is good teams. And when it comes time to play with an extraordinary team, they fail to get the job done. That may change, it is not that they are not competitive, but I think that in the case of Dallas, they should be concerned. “
“He’s missed a few pitches, which usually doesn’t happen, and they haven’t caught the passes either, and that wasn’t just Dak’s fault,” Troy said of what he’s seen from Prescott these past weeks. “They haven’t run the ball much either, there has been no commitment to this aspect of the game as well, and I think it’s really the best they have. When they are physically putting pressure on the rivals, the play action and the things that come out of all that ”.
Ultimately, Dak Prescott will have one last chance to gain confidence for the postseason when he meets the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field this Saturday night. As coach McCarthy stated earlier in the week, they will play the starters in week 18 against Philadelphia. It is expected that Dak can have a better game and that he will arrive at a good pace for the playoffs with the opponent he has to touch.
