Tag Archives: Dak Prescott

Top Ten QBs For 2026! Countdown 10 – 6!

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As we assess what we expect to see in the upcoming NFL season, everyone is ranking players on where they stand. Here this is a moving target as several players are coming down from career years while others have begun to make names for themselves. At least in NFL circles. This is not an all time standing for these men, its time to offer Taylor Blitz Times Top Ten for the upcoming season:

#10 – Sam Darnold: Achieved for winning Super Bowl LX for the Seattle Seahawks after reviving his career the season before in Minnesota. He resurrected his career with big games down the stretch where in ’24 he stumbled. In microcosm:

  • ’24 Vikings season: 361 of 545 – 4,319 yds 35TDs 12 ints. (7.92 yds per att.)
  • ’25 Seahawks season: 323 of 477 -4,048 yds 4,048 yds 25TDs 14ints. (8.48 yds per att.)

The truth of the matter is that gaudy 8.48 yards per attempt is 2nd in the league to Drake Maye. If you’re new here I wrote out on Dec 9th “The Lie Behind Quarterback Passer Rating & Several Useless Statistics” where I told you yards per attempt is the statistic that equates to team success not passer rating… well #1 and #2 in yards per attempt faced off in LX or 1st vs 11th in passer rating. He’s elite now after a Phil Simms-esque season. Keep in mind he outdueled League MVP Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship Game to get there. He is returning with his receiving corps intact for ’26 too.

#9 Caleb Williams: No one grew more during the ’25 season than the former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Cal. Williams with 5 – 4th quarter comebacks came of age similar to John Elway back in 1986. In his 1st playoff he had to make it happen on 4th and 8 and made a legendary throw for the 1st down.  Make that 6-4th quarter come from behind wins as they vanquished the Packers 31-27 in the Wild Card to cement a changing of the guard in the NFC North between the 2 teams.

He almost had a 7th when he had the biggest moment in the playoffs with his 4th down scramble throw to Cole Kmet to tie the game with :18 seconds left to force overtime against the LA. Williams had the Rams on the ropes going to overtime tied 17-17.

For the season Williams was 330 of 568 3,942 yards 27 scores with 7 interceptions or 6.9 yards per attempt. He needs to improve on YPA and his 58% completion percentage in his 2nd full season under Ben Johnson. Keep in mind back in Detroit when Johnson was working with Jared Goff as his OC he improved by 1,193 yds and 10TDs than the season before. Don’t underestimate the value of great offensive coaching. Goff was in his 7th year where Caleb with a greater arm is entering just his 3rd. If last year he was 1 overtime interception from the NFC Championship Game, where would improvement of this magnitude put him in 2026?? Winning in the playoffs and magic moments for an improving QB and the skies the limit…

#8. Joe Burrow: Its been 4 years since Burrow led the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and he has missed a total of 17 games in the last 3 years and coincidentally they haven’t made the playoffs all 3 years. This includes his spectacular ’24 when he was 460 of 652 for 4,918 yards and 43TDs. So which guy will we see? The MVP level ’24 Burrow or the Joe that missed at least 7 games in both ’23 & ’25?? The injuries are mounting up and if we have a 3rd season in 4 years where he’s missed significant time, we may have already seen the best of Burrow and he won’t be in the Top Ten. This doesn’t include the calf strain where he sat out the entire ’23 preseason.

He isn’t here for his ’25 season where his stats slipped to 1,809 yards 17TDs and 5 interceptions. He is about to turn 30 and journeyman Joe Flacco nearly equaled his stats (1,664 yds 13TDs/ 4ints) in relief. He still has the incomparable Ja’Marr Chase (125 rec/ 1,412 yds / 8TDs) and Tee Higgins as his active targets, Burrow can finish anywhere from #1 to outside the Top Ten. Which Burrow will we get?? Do you realize once this season concludes, the same Aaron Donald who sacked Burrow on the last play of Super Bowl LVI, will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?? Its been that long and Burrow turns 30 this season….

#7. Dak Prescott: Sigh… now listen, I’ve been critical of Dak in previous articles and the tic where he comes up short in meaningful regular season games and playoffs still remain. I thought Dak never looked better than last year’s 404 of 600 attempts for 4,552 yds and 30 touchdowns. Number 4 gave you the feeling the Cowboys were never out of the ball game. Now they’ve re-signed George Pickens (93 rec. 1,429 yds 9TDs) to a 1 year “do it again” franchise tag. He is going to go all out to secure a long term deal. With CeeDee Lamb (1077 yds 3TDs) Jake Ferguson (82 rec 600yds/8 TDs) and Javonte Williams (1,201 yds rushing 11TDs) #4 can stand back and orchestrate and the Cowboys are capable of 40 points per game easy.

They’ve landed some players on defense and he won’t be asked to do as much if they start forcing some turnovers. If there is 1 quarterback who has the tools in place to alter the way history will think of him, its Dak’s 2026 season. Now come January…*sucks teeth*  your mission, should you choose to accept it…

#6. Jalen Hurts: Now with his Super Bowl LIX championship & MVP shining on the mantle, Hurts has to have a bounce back year to remain on the trajectory of the last 4 years & 2 Super Bowl appearances or he can slide right out of the elite. In year’s past he beat you with his arms and legs but threw the ball scared in 2026, failing to throw AJ Brown & Smitty open. His anticipation wasn’t there and he kept playing scared to turn the football over. This led to a fractured relationship with his best wideout and speculation is he can be traded any day now. But take a look at something:

  • ’24: 248 of 361- 2,903 yds 18 TDs 5ints / 150 car. 640 yds 14 TDs
  • ’25: 294 of 454- 3,224 yds 25Tds 6 ints / 105 car. 421 yds 8 TDs

Hurts was brilliant both running and passing leading the Eagles to the championship in ’04 with the NFL’s 2nd ranked rushing attack. They plummeted to 18th illustrated by Saquon Barkley falling from 2,005 yards to 1,140 yards. Once in obvious passing situations their opponents could clog the intermediate routes and Jalen was too cautious not to take shots. Now that he is the $252 million dollar man he has to get over that and changing OCs for the 5th straight season. Another season of turmoil in ’26 could result in barely making the playoffs and slipping in the quarterback hierarchy possibly out of the Top Ten.

You can’t go entire halves of football with ZERO completions and Hurts did so twice. The Eagles punted on 72 drives in ’25 where they only had to 54 times in 2024.Third down percentage dropped from 40.28% to 36.73%. Hurts is making the big bucks to convert these to 1st and sustain drives. He has a ton of equity having been to the Super Bowl twice in the last 4 seasons but like Joe Burrow time starts to eat away at those memories. Less since he has won it all but things in the rear view mirror start fading…

The Eagles have lost a lot of pieces on the defensive side and may be forced to score more. Tactically this will lead to more interceptions but Hurts will have to take more chances.

Thanks for reading who is the bottom half of your Top Ten?

 

 

The Truth About Jordan Love

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Now I don’t want to go off on a ran here…but its time to talk about Jordan Love’s performance thus far. He earned the large contract and was on a trajectory to become one of the faces of the NFL but something happened. For clarity sake I am fond of the history of the Packers organization and championed the positions of black quarterbacks (Shameful Impatience w/ Black QB series) through many articles.

Its been a heavy burden filling Aaron Rodgers shoes and leading this football team. He’s done it admirably and when there were questions if he was the right quarterback he silenced them with his performance in the 2023 playoffs. After squeaking into the playoffs at 9-8 they were a heavy underdog and Love cooly led the Packers to a 20-0 start in Dallas on the way to a 48-21 upset. He went an efficient 16 of 21 for 272 yds throwing 3 TDs and never showed the nerves that most QBs face in their first playoff game.

Then the following week again on the road against the favored 2nd seeded 12-5 49ers, Love outplayed Brock Purdy. Going into the 4th quarter the Packers held a 24-14 lead before a defensive collapse and a costly 4th quarter interception. San Francisco didn’t take their 1st lead until McCaffrey’s 6yd run with just 1:07 to go in the game. Love had the Pakcers on the brink of the NFC Championship Game with a 21 for 34 performance 194 yds 2 TDs and 2 Ints, yet everyone left that game feeling Love showed growth solidifying his status as a franchise quarterback. Every pundit lauded his performance and couldn’t wait to see what was to come.

He was sailing along smoothly the following season until he came up against the new bullies of the block in Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions. These were the two surprising teams from  the previous season showing promise and the 11-1 Lions were hosting Love’s 9-3 Packers with the winner having inside track to homefield throughout the playoffs. Love was never in the game and came out slowly in a 34-31 loss. Hey were the Lions just that good or…. hmmm? Then two weeks later a repeat performance against the red hot 13-2 Vikings, falling behind 27-10, ultimately losing 27-25.

They had gone from playing for a chance at homefield advantage and the best in the NFC to 3rd place in just the NFC North. Love and the offense were anemic at the start of each game and then scrambled back to make the score look respectable. When the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles vanquished them 22-10 in the playoffs we were left with “Which is the real Jordan Love?” The Daniel who took his slingshot after 2 Goliaths in the ’23 playoffs or the disinterested lackluster QB we saw in 3 gigantic games with most of America watching when all was on the line?? All 3 happened in primetime and we needed to remove the stink that those 3 games gave us.

He now has the big contract and clearly the most important player on the Packers with a 9-6-1 record and losers of 3 straight.and barely hanging on in the 7th seed. Seriously?? Micah Parsons knee injury late in the year didn’t help but hold on with the excuses… Love went 18 of 25 for 183 yards in an inexplicable 13-10 loss to the 4-12 Browns. The opposing QB Joe Flacco, was traded just weeks later. Love could only muster 13 points in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Lambeau & only 7 American points in a loss to the Eagles in back to back weeks. Each of the teams he was facing have had terrible offensive seasons where Bryce Young may not be back in Carolina and turmoil is abound in Philadelphia over Jalen Hurts play.

Love and the Packers were 3-5 against winning teams in 2024 & 2-4 in 2025. There could be more but 4 teams they faced this year are currently 8-8 but this has been a poor follow-up to the ’23 playoff run. This is a team that acquired a bellcow runner in Josh Jacobs (1,329 yds in ’24) they haven’t had since Ahman Green. Made a trade for impact defensive terrorist Micah Parsons to bolster the defense and his receivers? Well Josh Allen would light the NFL up if he had Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvian (what kind of name is that?) Wicks, and Jayden Reed. Ask any Bills fan to which I am one if we would trade receiving staffs even up with the Packers… in a New York minute!!

All these moves were made to aid Love in fulfilling the promise from 2 seasons ago and we just haven’t seen any progress. Every time he has faced the teams with winning records he has come out with the yips. Only scoring 10 in a home loss to the 8-8 Panther team who were 4-5 at the time with only 1 win on the road (Jets)? They breathed playoff life into a team when they should have buried them. Same with only scoring 10 in a loss to the 4-12 Browns constitutes a bigger pattern. Love and the Packers keep playing with their food when it comes to weak teams also. After two years of this underperfomance and watching Malik Willis play well in relief it may be time to ask “Is Jordan Love the franchise quarterback we thought he was after 2023?”

I’m leaning toward no for an answer and he has to prove it or watch over his shoulder for a replacement in 2026. He may need a deep playoff run to stem the tide but this is a very large sample size to analyze & he may have become Pope Dak Prescott II. I don’t see him coming out of this as he hans’t exhibited a killer instinct to put his opponents away. That is something that can’t be coached…it has to be already in a player especially a franchise quarterback.

At the beginning of the season I was of the ilk this is the season Jordan Love would stake his claim and take the Packers to the NFC Championship. I was high on Love to rebound but as the season wore on I knew. This was why I predicted they would lose 2 weeks ago to Chicago whose overtaken them after predicting they would finish ahead of the Bears in my NFC North Preview. Caleb Williams has grown to the place Jordan Love did not. I have seen enough!

Should they trade Jordan Love and go with Malik Willis next year?? *shrugs shoulders*

What do you think?

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Dak Prescott 2023 Preview- Next Year’s Champion *Reissue*

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Now that the dust has settled on the draft and free agent moves, there are a few things to address as we hurtle toward the 2023 NFL season. During my hiatus, a lot was brought to bear on the future of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Mainly how former Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore was scapegoated for all shortcomings his former quarterback had. To many observers Cowboy fans never want to admit the flameouts we have chronicled here at Taylor Blitz for years now.
All of a sudden, Head Coach McCarthy will take over play calling duties when he hasn’t performed that duty in 5 years. This was back when he was let go in Green Bay for running too predictable an offense. Remember?? But before we go there…
  • Last year the Cowboys were chastised for not replacing Amari Cooper after being dealt to Cleveland. Giving Dak a built in excuse.
  • Kellen Moore, who has a bright football mind and led the Cowboys to #1 offensive rankings, became the reason they didnt succeed in postseason.
  • In 2020, Dallas had the worst defense in football. It wasn’t Dak’s fault. The team couldnt stop anyone.
  • Before that it was Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan’s fault. Then Head Coach Jason Garrett’s fault.

Now after losing two offensive coordinators and a head coach, Cowboys brass and coverage would have you believe this is “Next Year’s Champion” and Dak Prescott will show us once and for all. Seriously? We chronicled this in 2021 and in subsequent articles on “The Beta Quarterback” where we outlined Prescott’s damaged ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that causes him to short circuit in crucial minutes of important ball games.

One is to dissect the decisions made by #4 that caused Moore’s dismissal. Prescott was outplayed by a 3rd round “Mr Irrelevant” quarterback in Brock Purdy in the NFC Divisional out in San Francisco. The loss in The Chancellor of Football’s estimation fell square on the fight or flight psychosis of a jittery quarterback that isn’t it.

This crucial mistake late in the 3rd quarter illustrates the “real” problem for the Dallas quarterback:
OK Cowboy fans… The Kellen Moore v Dak Prescott problem… If an offensive coordinator draws a play up and it wins and you misread your keys, its Dak’s fault. Take a look at this play in the 3rd qtr of their playoff loss
I placed the blue dot on MLB Fred Warner as the 49ers bluffed a blitz and running a Tampa 2. (1st pic) He has to cover the deep middle and has to cover the 3 side receiver most inside threat.
In the 2nd pic Warner turns and runs with the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. Moore drew up and called this play anticipating this defense at this spot on the field. Warner still has the blue dot.
The 3rd pic is when Dak should be releasing the ball. Warner (blue dot) is in the hip of the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. TY Hilton (green bar) is streaking WIDE THE F OPEN on the opposing 30 and the 2 safeties with blue dots cant get there from their 2 deep landmarks. Warner isnt even facing TY Hilton to help if he wanted to.
Dak could hit him with a line drive pass and Dallas would have had a 1st down inside the 15 possibly 10. If Dak throws it and leads him Dallas has a TD and a late 3rd quarter lead and complete momentum.
Kellen Moore had the play call, play design, spot on the field, anticpated defense and Dak misread the most BASIC pass defense in football “Cover 2”. He throws it to the receiver with Warner all over him and the play is broken up and you punt… never to threaten again.
Yet blame Moore who was 4 for 4 on this play and Dak threw it to the 3 receiver side when the Tampa 2 principle is to have the Middle Linebacker crowd the inside receiver threatening the deep middle. Stop it… Dak sympathizers have more excuses than defending an accidental pregnancy.
This is 7 years in!! Losing to a 3rd string rookie QB where if everyone was healthy he’d be watching in street clothes? Teams can only dress 2 QBs.
Film study? Practice? Did they talk about this play? Keys to the play’s success?
You know they did…
At what point will Dak Prescott be held accountable for these issues as the Cowboys come up short against elite teams?? Especially when it keeps happening in the playoffs at the end of games the Cowboys should have won. Yet here we are again where Cowboys brass and day to day coverage has this team anointed “Next Year’s Champion’s” and will be led by their supposedly great quarterback who struggles to get the job done in money situations.
Now McCarthy who was fired at the end of his tenure in Green Bay for predictable offense is going to get it done. Well?? OK… at Taylor Blitz it’s always follow the psyche of the player in the arena. Its the greatest predictor to future events. The jury is in on Dak Prescott with The Chancellor of Football but you’re free to believe what you want to believe. Only this time…come back in January and let me know I was right.
Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Dak Prescott 2023 Preview- Next Year’s Champion

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Now that the dust has settled on the draft and free agent moves, there are a few things to address as we hurtle toward the 2023 NFL season. During my hiatus, a lot was brought to bear on the future of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Mainly how former Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore was scapegoated for all shortcomings his former quarterback had. To many observers Cowboy fans never want to admit the flameouts we have chronicled here at Taylor Blitz for years now.
All of a sudden, Head Coach McCarthy will take over play calling duties when he hasn’t performed that duty in 5 years. This was back when he was let go in Green Bay for running too predictable an offense. Remember?? But before we go there…
  • Last year the Cowboys were chastised for not replacing Amari Cooper after being dealt to Cleveland. Giving Dak a built in excuse.
  • Kellen Moore, who has a bright football mind and led the Cowboys to #1 offensive rankings, became the reason they didnt succeed in postseason.
  • In 2020, Dallas had the worst defense in football. It wasn’t Dak’s fault. The team couldnt stop anyone.
  • Before that it was Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan’s fault. Then Head Coach Jason Garrett’s fault.

Now after losing two offensive coordinators and a head coach, Cowboys brass and coverage would have you believe this is “Next Year’s Champion” and Dak Prescott will show us once and for all. Seriously? We chronicled this in 2021 and in subsequent articles on “The Beta Quarterback” where we outlined Prescott’s damaged ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that causes him to short circuit in crucial minutes of important ball games.

One is to dissect the decisions made by #4 that caused Moore’s dismissal. Prescott was outplayed by a 3rd round “Mr Irrelevant” quarterback in Brock Purdy in the NFC Divisional out in San Francisco. The loss in The Chancellor of Football’s estimation fell square on the fight or flight psychosis of a jittery quarterback that isn’t it.

This crucial mistake late in the 3rd quarter illustrates the “real” problem for the Dallas quarterback:
OK Cowboy fans… The Kellen Moore v Dak Prescott problem… If an offensive coordinator draws a play up and it wins and you misread your keys, its Dak’s fault. Take a look at this play in the 3rd qtr of their playoff loss
I placed the blue dot on MLB Fred Warner as the 49ers bluffed a blitz and running a Tampa 2. (1st pic) He has to cover the deep middle and has to cover the 3 side receiver most inside threat.
In the 2nd pic Warner turns and runs with the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. Moore drew up and called this play anticipating this defense at this spot on the field. Warner still has the blue dot.
The 3rd pic is when Dak should be releasing the ball. Warner (blue dot) is in the hip of the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. TY Hilton (green bar) is streaking WIDE THE F OPEN on the opposing 30 and the 2 safeties with blue dots cant get there from their 2 deep landmarks. Warner isnt even facing TY Hilton to help if he wanted to.
Dak could hit him with a line drive pass and Dallas would have had a 1st down inside the 15 possibly 10. If Dak throws it and leads him Dallas has a TD and a late 3rd quarter lead and complete momentum.
Kellen Moore had the play call, play design, spot on the field, anticpated defense and Dak misread the most BASIC pass defense in football “Cover 2”. He throws it to the receiver with Warner all over him and the play is broken up and you punt… never to threaten again.
Yet blame Moore who was 4 for 4 on this play and Dak threw it to the 3 receiver side when the Tampa 2 principle is to have the Middle Linebacker crowd the inside receiver threatening the deep middle. Stop it… Dak sympathizers have more excuses than defending an accidental pregnancy.
This is 7 years in!! Losing to a 3rd string rookie QB where if everyone was healthy he’d be watching in street clothes? Teams can only dress 2 QBs.
Film study? Practice? Did they talk about this play? Keys to the play’s success?
You know they did…
At what point will Dak Prescott be held accountable for these issues as the Cowboys come up short against elite teams?? Especially when it keeps happening in the playoffs at the end of games the Cowboys should have won. Yet here we are again where Cowboys brass and day to day coverage has this team anointed “Next Year’s Champion’s” and will be led by their supposedly great quarterback who struggles to get the job done in money situations.
Now McCarthy who was fired at the end of his tenure in Green Bay for predictable offense is going to get it done. Well?? OK… at Taylor Blitz it’s always follow the psyche of the player in the arena. Its the greatest predictor to future events. The jury is in on Dak Prescott with The Chancellor of Football but you’re free to believe what you want to believe. Only this time…come back in January and let me know I was right.
Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Is Mike McCarthy A Coach of The Year Candidate for 2022?

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Well Cowboys fans have to give Mike McCarthy credit. I really dont know where the animosity from fans came from when his name comes up. Was it the broad brush stroked over him when he was fired in Green Bay??

McCarthy deserves credit for Cowboys season.

Whatever the reason…Cowboys lose, he and Kellen Moore get  ALL the blame but when they win its because of Dak. Even during Cooper Rush’s 4-1 run. Make no mistake I like both Kellen and McCarthy but what’s fair is fair.  As the roving  crazy show of Jerry’s comments, arguments over is the defense championship caliber, Dak, Pollard or Zeke?

Quietly this man should be considered for coach of the year.

Its popular for some reason not to like him. People that follow the crowd just burn me up but the sporting press shouldnt act that way. If you’re going to name him for perceived coaching gaffes, its time to give him creit for keeping this ship on course. Especially when the season many pundits perceived lost when Dak was injured.

Keep in mind Dallas went 4-1 with Cooper Rush where the Eagles are 0-2 with Gardner Minschew and may lose homefield advantage. The Ravens are 1-2 and sliding in the playoff seedings without Lamar Jackson. This after an 0-5 finish without him to miss the playoffs last year.

 

At some point, McCarthy has to get credit. After all this is a Super Bowl winning coach.

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2021 Preview – The Truth About Dak Prescott

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While writing about the teams of the National Football League there are certain values you assess certain players with. One here at Taylor Blitz Times is the description of the quarterback. Is the quarterback an Alpha or a Beta? In doing so Dak Prescott has been labeled a Beta Quarterback which has drawn the ire of Cowboys fans. Its a clash waged on social media between friends/readers for a few years now.

Cowboy fans have been waiting to see a healthy Dak Prescott hit the field.

To bring you up to speed lets take you back and define the line between the two distinctions:

The alpha infuses confidence in his football team through his play and leadership. His teammates are inspired through his verve, spirit, and fight which in turn raises their level of play to meet his.  You can see the confidence in their eyes when the game is tight. He doesn’t shrink when games are on the line or when the team is up against a superior opponent. This is what every coach covets each year in the NFL draft…

Then you have the beta quarterback that many teams seem to be afflicted with. He comes through with the physical gifts that scouts and coaches can see where he can improve, and can possibly sculpt a winner from. He shows promise and can win you a few football games yet isn’t a leader. This is the guy that looks to his teammates for confidence when they’re looking to him for theirs.

Subsequently when the situations get tight or they’re up against tough teams, he shrinks at the moment of truth.  Sure they win games they are supposed to win but the superior opponent he needs to beat to become a champion, he will always come up short. Late game interceptions, missed connections in crucial times, & mangled last minute drives which short ciruit his team’s efforts. Most important he always loses when an alpha quarterback is leading the other team. Constant big game heartbreak follows this guy….always.

Dak playing from behind…

In dissecting Dak’s play its been one where The Chancellor has described Dak as falling behind 20-7, then scrambles back gaining garbage yards against vanilla defenses. Only to lose 30-24 and Cowboy apologists blame everything but Dak. “Its the defense…. Its Mike McCarthy, the play calling etc.” Truth be told its Prescott’s fault struggling early in games although he has gotten better lately…. but still a beta quarterback. He feasts on his weak division and struggles against top defenses and contending teams.

For starters lets look at the 1st half of Prescott’s games in 2019 & 2020 before injury. We’re going to look at each with overall defensive ranking, defense vs pass ranking, Dak’s stats, whether the Cowboys were up and if they ultimately won the game:

Giants (25th / 28th v pass) 17 of 28 230yds 3TDs – up 21-7 at half /Win

Wash (27th/18th v pass) 12 of 18 – 86yds 2TDs – 1int / 1 sack up 14-7 at half/Win

Dolphins (30th/26th v pass) 9 of 19 – 95yds 1TD – up 10-6 at half/Win

Saints (11th/20th v pass) 11 of 15 – 88yds 0TDs 0ints -down 9-3 at half/Loss

Packers (17th/11th v pass) 8 of 14 -149yds 0TDs 2ints/2 sacks down 17-0 at half/Loss

Jets (7th/17th v pass) 13 of 20 – 125yds 0TDs 0ints down 21-3 at half/Loss

Eagles (10th/19th v pass) 12 of 16 -147yds 1TD 0ints /1sack / up 27-7 at half/Win

Giants (25th/28th v pass) 11 of 19 – 89yds 1TD 1int /up 13-12 at half/ Win

Vikings (27th/25th v pass) 12 of 19 – 185yds 2TDs / down 17-14 at half/ Loss

Lions (32nd/31st v pass) 16 of 25 – 274yds 2TDs/1 sack / up 24-14 at half/Win

Patriots (2nd/1st v pass) 10 of 15 – 88yds 0TDs 1 int/ down 10-6 at half /Loss

Bills (3rd/4th v pass) 16 of 24 163yds 1TD 1int/ 3 sacks/ down 13-7 at half/Loss

Bears (8th/9th v pass) 7 of 12 60yds 0TDs / 1 sack / down 17-7at half/Loss

Rams (12th/13th v pass) 9 of 15 158yds 2TDs up 28-7 at half/Win

Eagles (10th/19th v pass) 11 of 18 125yds 0TDs/ down 10-6 at half/Loss

Wash (27th/18th v pass) 12 of 19 120 yds 0TDs/3 sacks/ up 20-7 at half/Win

Of course the question will be raised as why just analyze the first half? Did you notice Dak was 8-0 when he led the Cowboys to a half time lead? What is glaring are none of these games showed him overcome a deficit to lead Dallas to a come from behind win. Also:

Did you notice Prescott was 2-6 against defenses that ranked in the top half in the NFL?? Or notice the 1-5 record vs playoff teams in 2019 with the lone win against the Eagles?? What about in 6 of those losses he didnt throw a TD in the 1st half of games?? I thought it was the defense Cowboy fans?? Why can’t Dak get leads on quality defenses or quality teams?? Where are his 4th quarter heroic comeback wins??

Troy Aikman’s 1st half of 93 NFC Championship Game

What made Troy Aikman a great quarterback is his 1st half consistency completing passes for 1st downs and touchdowns so he could turn it over to Emmitt and The Great Wall. In fact both Dallas and San Francisco in their yers of dominance came out passing. Notice the stat line where Aikman is averaging nearly 13 yards per completion. Dak needs to get leads and allow his defense to pass rush and line up in predictable down and distances.

This will also allow the Cowboys to turn it over to Ezekiel Elliott and what’s left of The Great Wall II as well.

Another graphic to contrast is this freeze frame from Joe Montana’s performance in the 1st half of the 1981 NFC Championship Game vs Dallas. Notice he is averaging 15 yards per completion??

The reason these are being shown is to get you to understand passing for 80 yards and 0TDs is why he is always behind. The other is Prescott signed a new contract for narly $40 million per year. You’re expected to win championships at these dollar figures.

Can Dak improve and play alpha quarterback football?? Of course he can but will he?? Its not been his norm nor a part of his mental makeup. Keep in mind Dak was only 1-3 last year and all 3 losses were to playoff teams to the Rams, Seahawks, and Cleveland Browns. By the way…he was playing from behind in the last 3 of his regular season starts.

Up ’til now Dak Prescott hasn’t been an alpha quarterback and hasn’t flashed any greatness. Several times during the season I had called him “Fools Gold” and a “Beta Quarterback” which drew the ire of Cowboys fans. Show me where he has exhibited greatness or a win against a marquee non NFC East team??

Now after a severe leg injury and several MRIs on his throwing shoulder keeping him out of the 1st 2 preseason games, Prescott is expected to be great?? This is a tall ask as he begins against Tom Brady and the Super Bowl Champion Bucaneers. Furthermore the Bucs defense ranked 6th last year. Oh boy! Dak… your mission, should you choose to accept it…

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