The playoffs couldn’t have started off any better with the Dallas Cowboys coming out on top 24-22 over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night. It was a tight defensive battle for most of the game, with neither team really doing much scoring, but it was the Cowboys offense who took control at the end of the second half and in the fourth quarter to win the game. They were led by some incredible plays from Quarterback Dak Prescott, who got the first postseason win of his career.
He wasn’t perfect throughout the night, but he was good enough to win the football game. Dak Prescott went 22 of 33 for 226 yards passing with one touchdown, one interception, a quarterback rating of 83.7 and a QBR (ESPN’s metric) of 73.9. He also ran six times for 29 yards and a touchdown.
It was a night when the Cowboys weren’t able to sustain drives and finish with points because of penalties and difficulties at times in the run game, but at the end of the first half, Dak Prescott came through with a really nice throw to get the Cowboys their first touchdown of the game.
On second and 10 from the 11 yard line, Dak Prescott threw a perfect fade route to Michael Gallup to the front part of the end zone, just one play after throwing the same route and missing badly. It showed a lot of intestinal fortitude to come right back to the same play and have the confidence to make the throw that you didn’t make the play before.
And that’s what Dak Prescott is all about isn’t he? Confidence? He just exudes it. No matter the situation and no matter the score, Prescott always believes in himself and his teammates to come through when they need a play. Dak was willing to throw it to Gallup in the red zone, not once, but twice in a row for a score. Imagine the confidence boost that gives to a rookie wide receiver that your quarterback is willing to give you a shot to score when the team needed it on back to back plays.
Then with the Cowboys trying to salt the game away in the fourth quarter and facing a 3rd and 14 at the 17 yard line, Dak Prescott pulls off maybe the play of his career — to this point.
On what looked like a designed run, as soon as Dak Prescott hit his back foot on his three-step drop, he took off up the middle and got excellent blocking downfield from Blake Jarwin, Joe Looney, and La’el Collins. Dak had to break a tackle, but he was able to pick up the first down, which was the difference in the game. It was an excellent play call. The Seahawks defense was likely expecting an Ezekiel Elliott run to set up the field goal and when Prescott went into his drop, they probably expected him to throw. It looks like the Seahawks were just sitting back on their heels waiting for Prescott to come to them. They weren’t prepared for it and Dak Prescott and the offensive line took advantage.
So, now the Dallas Cowboys get to continue their improbable run in the 2018 NFL season as they await the result of the Chicago Bears vs the Philadelphia Eagles game later today. That game will decide whether they go to New Orleans to play the Saints or to Los Angeles to play the Rams.
Wherever they play in the divisional round, it’s a safe bet that the Dallas Cowboys are going to have a shot to win the game with the way that their defense is playing and with how clutch their quarterback is playing.
