Mac Engel: When the Dallas Cowboys needed the better QB, Dak Prescott was anything but
Dak Prescott was blessed with an opportunity to erase not only a bad day, but was handed an NFL “The Drive” moment his career lacks.
The Dallas Cowboys trailed the San Francisco 49ers by seven points with 2:59 remaining in the game, and had the ball at their own 18-yard line.
This was his chance to change perceptions.
On first down, Dak’s pass should have been a pick six.
On second down, Dak threw a long, incomplete pass for receiver Michael Gallup. The play was there. The pass was not.
On third down, Dak was sacked.
Punt.
Not exactly Montana-to-Clark for “The Catch.”
Dak Hater Nation, the floors is yours. For the next 12 months.
Dak Prescott might want to smash his Twitter account, disable Instagram, sell his house, put the dog up for adoption, and find a nice, secluded spot in the Aleutian Islands to stay in the next few months.
Dak threw himself into this criticism, and he will have to hear it until the 2023 NFL playoffs.
No matter how hard anyone, including his big boss, tries to defend the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys he was inexcusably inferior when his teammates gave him every chance to win a game this franchise has not had in decades.
He all but owned every syllable of these sentiments, too.
The Cowboys had so many chances to defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif. that I lost count at 453.
Don’t watch the film. It’s too painful.
The Cowboys didn’t just lose to the 49ers, 19-12, in the NFC divisional round; they blew this one.
They blew it because Dak Prescott was out-played by Brock Purdy.
“It all sucks right now,” Dak said after the game. “It all sucks.”
Not a lot of arguments on that one.
The Cowboys are now 0-6 in the NFC divisional round since 2000, the worst in the NFL in that time. They have not reached an NFC title game since the 1995 season.
On Sunday, they blew it in part because their veteran, high-priced quarterback made the type of mistakes that the 49ers’ rookie, seventh round draft pick quarterback did not.
Dak will have to sit on his two-interception performance in the NFC divisional round playoff game not for a few months, but until he reaches another postseason.
Dak has repeatedly proven to be a solid, regular-season quarterback. In the playoffs, less so.
In the playoffs, with Dak (or Tony Romo), this franchise cannot reach the NFC title game.
“I promise you we will, though,” Dak said when I asked him about this uncomfortable detail to his career. “In my time playing for this organization, we will. Yeah it sucks, that’s 365 days away to get back to this position. I’ll respond the right way.”
He said it. It’s 365 days away.
On Sunday, he wasn’t mediocre. He was terrible.
To beat the 49ers the Cowboys had to exploit the large advantage of starting a veteran NFL quarterback against the team that was going with Brock Purdy.
Brock Purdy. Iowa State star. Rookie. Seventh round draft pick. Last guy picked. Five career regular-season NFL starts.
(Dak has started 97 games).
Whatever mojo Dak created for himself in the Cowboys’ wildcard win over Tampa he personally doused in the first half against San Francisco.
In the first quarter, the Cowboys faced a 3rd-and-9 from their own 21-yard line. Dak’s pass was intended for Gallup, and was instead intercepted.
The Cowboys defense held the 49ers to just a field goal.
After leading the Cowboys to a touchdown, and the lead, Dak had his offense within yet another touchdown with 1:24 remaining in the first half.
Facing a 2nd-and-2 at the 49ers’ 18-yard line, Dak’s pass for Lamb was intercepted by the 49ers’ Fred Warner.
Dak didn’t just force this ball to CeeDee. Dak took a ball and tried to jam, squeeze, crinkle, and cram it between two defenders; no ball of any size could make it through that hole.
The Cowboys desperately missed running back Tony Pollard, who left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.
And Dak had to be better than this.
In the second half on a 3rd-and-8 pass with 11:08 remaining at the 49ers’ 25-yard line, Dak badly missed Lamb over the middle. The ball was well behind the intended receiver.
In the final minute of the game, Prescott was given one more chance. It was a chance in name only.
The Cowboys’ started their final drive with no timeouts, inside their own 10-yard line, with 51 seconds left.
They would have needed multiple Hail Mary’s to get a first down, let alone a touchdown.
The 49ers have one of the NFL’s better defenses, but when Dak had to be great, he was this: 23-of-37 for 206 yards, 1 touchdown, two interceptions.
His passer ratings was 63.6. He averaged 5.6 yards per completion.
Brock Purdy: 19-of-29, 214 yards, 0 TDs, and ZERO interceptions.
“He’s going to get criticized regardless, no matter how he played,” Lamb said after the game. “If he had thrown zero interceptions, everybody would have been on his coattails. Just because he threw picks, everyone’s going to be on him.
“That’s fine. Everybody throws picks. He plays for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s No. 4. That’s what comes with it. I’m with my boy, and he knows that.”
In a game like this, where the margin is a less than a blade of grass, you can’t turn the ball over. Both of Dak’s interceptions were on him.
A nutso stat for Dak Haters Inc.: Dak has not had back-to-back games without a turnover (interception or lost fumble) for 49 straight games. His last multi-game stretch without a turnover was the last two games of the 2018 season, and the 2019 opener.
The story of the 2022 Dallas Cowboys is that they were again a good regular season team with a good defense and a good quarterback.
A quarterback who had his team in position to reach the NFC title game, and in that moment he was instead out-played by the rookie from Iowa State.
“I’m disappointed in the way that I played; they put me in position to go win the game,” Prescott said. “I wasn’t able to do that. Yeah, put it on my shoulders. When you play this position, for this organization, you’ve got to accept that. It will make me better.
“It sucks that I don’t get a shot at it for a long time.”
A long 365 days to be exact.
Dak Haters, the floor is yours.
