Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott is here to stay

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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There was a moment in Green Bay on Sunday, late in the first quarter, that encapsulates just why the Cowboys believe they are not going to be able to take Dak Prescott out of the lineup. Ironically, it came on the play when Prescott broke Tom Brady’s record for most passes thrown at the start of a career (162) without throwing an interception, and Brady’s the guy whose situation most compares to Prescott’s -- established quarterback gets hurt, young guy comes in and plays great, established guy can’t get his job back.

On this play, from the Green Bay 36, Prescott did three things that were uncharacteristic of the way he’d learned to play football at Mississippi State. “This is what Dak Prescott did not do in college,” Troy Aikman said on FOX, narrating the replay. “He did not take the ball from under center. He didn’t run play-action. And he didn’t drop back. But on this play, as he works up into the pocket, he’s not watching the pass rush, he’s just managing the pocket -- as you should. As a quarterback, he does it outstanding.”

So what happened is Prescott took the snap and took his drop, play-action-faking to Alfred Morris on his way back. Then he got flushed back, nimbly avoiding Julius Peppers, then flushed left, bracing for a hit from 322-pound tackle Letroy Guion. Skipping left, Prescott threw the ball about 21 yards in the air to his crosser, Terence Williams, who caught it just shy of the left sideline before getting hit out of bounds. Gain of 15.

“Troy’s right,” Prescott said afterward, after getting walked through the play, and through Aikman’s analysis. “I never took the ball from under center. I did pretty simple stuff out of the gun. Never did a seven-step drop. I just credit the work I put in, every day. The things I didn’t do in college is what [offensive coordinator] Scott Linehan has done with me every day. Just getting coached, working to be better at this level. But that play, that completion, felt good, really good. That’s a good example what I wasn’t asked to do in college, and I’ve taken this coaching and brought it into my game.”

Prescott understands the game he’s playing is different. But it’s not like learning Russian. It’s more like learning a dialect of English. “It’s still football,” he said. “It’s just football. Being here, it doesn’t feel that much different to me. It’s the highest level of football, obviously. And winning here today, beating the Packers at historic Lambeau Field, is fun. Really fun. But I prepare the same way I’ve always prepared. I played some big games in college, at some intense venues, throughout the SEC. I don’t let what people say be a distraction. I don’t let the place be a distraction. Today, in a place I’d always seen on TV, felt like a big college game to me.”

There was a cool story about Prescott this week by Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel, who described a Thursday night in Dallas before Week 3. Kanye West was playing in town, and Prescott had tickets. But he decided not to go. He knew he’d get home after midnight and just didn’t want to interrupt the routine he’d made for himself.

“I thought that showed the importance of taking the job seriously,” he said. “I love the game. I love to prepare. I study my butt off, and I have to, because these guys are so good.”

I’m sure a 30-16 win over the Packers at Lambeau made Dallas brass and coaching staff feel a lot better about keeping Prescott in the lineup and using Romo as the league’s best insurance policy if Prescott slumps or is hurt. Seven weeks ago, COO Stephen Jones told me it was a remote possibility that Prescott would play so well it’d be hard for Romo to get his job back -- similar to the Brady/Drew Bledsoe situation in Foxboro in 2001. “I can’t imagine a scenario where Tony’s not our quarterback when he’s ready,” Jones said in late August. “But things happen. You know what happened to Bledsoe and Brady. I’m sure Tony’s aware of that.”

	Year	Comp%	Yards	TD	INT	Rating	Team W-L
Brady	2001	.631	1,273	10	4	91.4	4-2
Prescott	2016	.687	1,486	7	1	103.9	5-1

“It’s not up to me,” said Prescott. “I just do what the coaches tell me. I want to be great, and to be great you have to just play each play, be in the moment.”

This is his moment. Whether he was the 135th pick in the draft is as irrelevant now as the fact that Brady was the 199th. When you evade Julius Peppers all day and don’t get light-headed on the Aaron Rodgers fumes and you win at Lambeau by two touchdowns, it’s your moment. That’s why when the Eagles come to Texas in 13 days, Dak Prescott is the likely starting pitcher. Very likely.

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