Lost among the rave reviews of the Dallas Cowboys’ win on Sunday was a possible vote of no confidence in Dak Prescott.
Now, before you warm up the pitchforks and torches, let me explain.
When was the last time you saw the Cowboys play with that kind of fire on both sides of the ball? The win over the Browns doesn’t count because Cleveland is fraudulent.
In all the “big” games this year, Dallas came out flat.
Even the win against Pittsburgh lacked the kind of competitive energy we saw against Tampa Bay.
How about 2023? The biggest win was against an Eagles team that was imploding.
Even then, the team looked nothing like they did on Sunday night.
The Cowboys had nothing to play for, having been eliminated earlier that day. So why did they come out like a team possessed?
Was it really just about playing for pride?
Something To Believe In
A lot of the post-game talk trended toward the Cowboys playing the way they did to show their support of Mike McCarthy and Mike Zimmer.
There is some truth in that. Although one might ask why they weren’t able to summon that kind of energy when they were still in the playoff hunt.
The fate of McCarthy and his coaching staff will be determined early next month.
Who knows if McCarthy will even come back, even if Jerry Jones offers him a contract?
The same holds true for the rest of the coaches.
But saving the coaches isn’t the primary drive behind what we saw on Sunday night. It was more about belief.
Belief in themselves as players. And belief in one player in particular.
Cooper Rush.
Something For Dak Prescott To Learn
Cooper Rush is now 4-3 as a starter this year, with basically the same players that Dak Prescott went 3-5 with.
The why of that difference in record is something both McCarthy and Prescott need to be paying attention to.
Rush is a game manager. He can also be trusted to not put his defense in early holes or in bad positions.
As has been pointed out many times before, Prescott tends to force passes.
This approach has led to bad turnovers. It has either put the Cowboys down early and also put the defense in bad positions.
With Rush, we’ve seen Dallas not move the ball and punt it away.
The defense can then go out and get a stop, knowing that their offense isn’t going to lose the game.
How many times with Prescott, especially in the Cowboys’ last two playoff games, have we seen the defense fold after back-breaking turnovers put the team down early?
Too many times.
When the defense knows it can at least rely on the offense not to make things worse, they rise up and play like they did against Tampa Bay.
Over the last seven games, we’ve seen Prescott upstairs watching the games. Let’s hope he’s learning at the same time.
Whether or not McCarthy and Zimmer return for 2025, Prescott is definitely going to be the starting quarterback.
Here’s how he can be successful and possibly lead the Cowboys into a deep postseason run.
Prescott 2.0 in 2025
Prescott may be the highest paid player in the NFL but, as Jimmy Johnson pointed out, he is not the best player in the league.
He never will be. Nor will he ever be the best quarterback in the league.
He is not in the same class as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or even Lamar Jackson.
He’ll never be that either.
But what he can be is the kind of quarterback that can manage his offense and help get his team to a Super Bowl. With help from the running game and his defense.
Which is what Rush has been benefiting from these last seven weeks.
Dallas needs to start calling its offense as if Rush were still under center. They’ve been pounding the ball with Rico Dowdle and letting Rush pick his spots.
Rush’s strength is getting the ball out of his hands quickly. Prescott has tended to wait far too long and then force a pass.
Understanding The Assignment
McCarthy, or his replacement, needs to come into next season with a much different mindset than the Cowboys have had for the past five seasons.
Prescott needs to buy into it 100% as well.
If the goal is to win a championship, or at the very least, get to a Super Bowl, Prescott needs to make a change.
Micah Parsons recently said he would take less money if it meant getting more help to be successful. Prescott has his money.
Now he needs to help his team be successful.
Prescott 1.0 needs an update. Prescott 2.0 needs to fully integrate the new program.
That’s Prescott’s assignment in 2025.