Dak Prescott insists he didn’t listen much to the criticism after a Week 14 loss to the New York Giants. Despite leading the Dallas Cowboys on an 11-game win streak, rumblings of a possible benching for Prescott were inevitable after he finished a loss with a 45.4 passer rating.
Dak Prescott reminded everybody why he’s the man under center for the Cowboys
The rookie had just four incompletions Sunday night, and played great when the pressure was on.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not that he deserved to be benched, but any slip-up will create drama in Dallas with four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo on the sideline. So, even though Prescott ignored the criticism, there was no question he knew the importance of playing well in Week 15.
“I don’t pay attention to the noise,” Prescott told reporters Sunday night. “I couldn’t really tell you what was said earlier in the week. I found out later in the week, but that really doesn’t bother me. If anything, it’s motivation. I just wanted to come back and perform after the game I played last week — that was the only thing on my mind.”
And Prescott rose to the occasion.
A week after completing 17 of his 37 passes against the Giants, Prescott connected on 32 of 36 passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 88.9 completion percentage was his highest of the season and the highest allowed by a Tampa Bay defense that caught its stride in the second half of the season.
Prior to playing Prescott, the Buccaneers intercepted Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, and Russell Wilson a combined seven times over a three-week span. It was quickly becoming one of the most opportunistic and dangerous defenses in the NFL, but Prescott calmly picked the team apart for 279 passing yards without an interception.
When the Buccaneers rallied to take a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter, Prescott responded by completing his last nine passes of the game, leading the team to a 26-20 victory, even if he couldn’t find the end zone late in the game.
“He can come back from when he doesn’t play as well as he wanted to play,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, via ESPN. “I think it ought to show you he’s sure not worried about anything being said peripherally about him. He’s gonna go to work and go to town, so we can quit worrying about that kind of stuff.”
Jones admitted that he often helps fuel the controversies, even suggesting that the best finish for the Cowboys would be Romo returning to lead the team to the Super Bowl.
”I do feed that,” Jones told the Wall Street Journal. “I think there’s some of me that wants to [stir things up]. That probably is intentional.”
Prescott hasn’t faced much adversity in a 12-2 season, but bouncing back from a tough loss to win a crucial game with other teams breathing down the Cowboys’ neck was a sign that he can handle the drama and spotlight that comes with being the quarterback in Dallas.
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