Dak Prescott’s record-setting rookie season is fading in the rearview. He’s fresh off the worst three-game stretch of his young career, and it’s difficult for Prescott to wrap his mind around it.
Dak Prescott needs more help to get the Cowboys back on track
It’s a tall order with Ezekiel Elliott out and the offensive line’s regression, but it can be done.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
“I mean, yeah, it’s frustrating, it’s shocking,” Prescott said, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram. “You look around and you see the Pro Bowlers and the talent you have. It’s almost a loss for words on why it’s happening, but it just shows you this game is tough. It’s tough week in and week out, no matter who you play, and that’s what makes the NFL great.”
As Prescott has gone, so have the Cowboys.
The Cowboys have been outscored 92-22 in their last three losses, to the Falcons, Eagles, and Chargers, failing to reach double digits in each game. That’s not good company to be in:
But lost in Prescott’s performances over the past three games is the fact that he can’t do it alone.
Before their skid, the Cowboys beat Washington 31-19 when these two teams faced off in Week 8. Now Dallas is 5-6 heading into this week’s rematch Thursday night at AT&T Stadium — and the Cowboys’ postseason hopes are hanging by a thread. They’re two games back in a crowded wild card field, and if they lose to Washington, the Eagles will clinch the NFC East.
Thursday night is a must-win situation. And that’s going to be a tall task for this Cowboys team.
Here are two reasons why Prescott and the Cowboys are struggling:
The offensive line is letting Dak down
This was the best unit in the league last season, but personnel shake-ups from last season and injuries have derailed the performance this year. In the offseason, right tackle Doug Free retired and left guard Ronald Leary moved on to the Broncos in free agency. La’el Collins and Jonathan Cooper have been downgrades.
Left tackle Tyron Smith has battled back and groin injuries and has missed two games — an absence that everyone noticed. Right guard Zack Martin has been dealing with a concussion. Smith, Martin, and right tackle Collins are all listed as questionable for Thursday’s game.
The line has been especially bad over the past three games. This unit allowed just 10 sacks over the Cowboys’ first eight games. Prescott has been sacked 14 times in the team’s three-game skid.
That pressure has kept the Cowboys from the end zone. The Cowboys have been able to score on only 33.3 percent of their trips to the red zone over their last three games. That’s a significantly lower rate than their 61.6 conversion rate in the red zone all year. And the Cowboys’ inability to score leaves them consistently playing from behind.
Prescott’s been pushing it with deep passes into tight coverage to try to make up ground. And it’s a lot harder to let those fly accurately when he’s constantly under pressure.
That pressure has affected him in other ways, too. Prescott had seven turnovers all last season; he’s had eight in the past three weeks. Two of those turnovers have been returned for scores by the other team.
He’s not getting much help from the run game without Ezekiel Elliott, either.
The Cowboys need a ground game while Ezekiel Elliott is out
That last win over Washington was powered by a 150-yard, two-touchdown performance from Elliott. This time around, Elliott is serving the fourth game of his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations made against him in 2016.
Elliott averaged 97.9 yards per game on the ground. He added 210 receiving yards. And Elliott is singlehandedly responsible for almost one-third of the Cowboys’ 30 touchdowns this season. He had nine — seven rushing and two receiving — over the eight games he’s played in this year. The Cowboys have scored two touchdowns total without him on the field.
The strength of Dallas’ ground game with Elliott opened up play-action opportunities for Prescott in the passing attack. And the threat of Elliott as a receiver out of the backfield made the Cowboys tougher to defend.
In Elliott’s absence, Alfred Morris and Rod Smith have had decent production on the ground: Morris is averaging 60 yards per game, while Smith has 45 per game plus one touchdown. But they aren’t explosive like Elliott is.
“The run game has been efficient,” tight end Jason Witten said via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “We’ve done a good job with our running game. We just haven’t had enough big plays in there to get in control of the defense and get them to kind of playing our style of football.”
Morris and Smith aren’t dual threats like Elliott is, either. Smith has caught just six passes for 22 yards with Elliott out. Morris has only one catch for 13 yards.
Prescott doesn’t think the Cowboys’ lack of production is necessarily because Elliott isn’t playing. He doesn’t blame the coaches, either. He thinks the players on the field should be getting it done.
“I look in the mirror and I look at the other guys on the plays. I mean, simply explosion plays, I don’t know if you can point at a coach,” Prescott said. “It’s just us making guys miss and wanting to go get those extra yards. That to me is simply about the athleticism of our playmakers and being able to go make guys miss.”
Elliott will be eligible to return to the field in Week 16 against the Seahawks. But if they can’t turn it around, the Cowboys’ season may be effectively over by then.
Yet, all hope is not lost.
Dallas has been competitive in the first halves of each of the last three games, and things spiraled starting in the third quarter and beyond. The Cowboys have enough talent in place to sustain drives and get in the end zone. It’s just a matter of the offense rallying around Prescott and helping him get it done.
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