It's been no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are trying to get a new contract extension for Dak Prescott worked out. Executive Vice President Stephen Jones said on 105.3 last Friday that he's had an open dialogue with Prescott's team and that the two sides were trying to ink a deal before the season opener. However, that didn't come to pass and the franchise signal-caller entered the 2019 season set to make just over 2 million in the final year of his rookie deal. The Cowboys have been serving up new deals like hotcakes, and even with expectations always being Super Bowl or bust, Prescott continues to show his worth on the highest level.
To say he was on fire against the Giants would be an understatement. He finished 25 of 32 for 405 yards and 4 touchdowns (tying a career-high). This would put Prescott in some elite company as he would become the first quarterback in franchise history to have a perfect passer rating of 158.3 (minimum 20 attempts) and only the thirtieth all-time. He also set a franchise record for passing yards in a season opener breaking Hall of Famer Troy Aikman's previous mark set back in 1999 with 362 yards.
What was also impressive was Prescott's timing with his top three receivers. Michael Gallup had a career-high with 158 yards, Amari Cooper added 106 yards and Randall Cobb was very solid in his Cowboys debut with 69 yards on four receptions. He would complete 17 of 21 passes to his top three targets (80.9%) showing that the chemistry they've built over the spring/summer can easily translate to real game action.
The stat that stood out to me the most was the fact he was 14 of 15 for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns on play-action passes. Not too bad for a guy that's called inaccurate or “Can't Throw” wouldn't you say? New Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore had an excellent gameplan attacking the middle of the field, the sidelines, and vertically to stretch the defense.
Owner Jerry Jones was so impressed by Prescott's performance that he let it be known he felt a new long term deal was on the horizon.
“Oh, yes, I do know that we'll get it done,” Jones said, per Pro Football Talk. “It would probably be fair to say it'll be done on an imminent basis. Imminent. Without being clear, bright lined. It's not done. What's imminent? Well, days. Days. Or something like that.”
Prescott himself, however, isn't focused on his big payday or the raving comments by his owner. Instead, he's turned all his attention to their next opponent and NFC East rival the Washington Redskins. “I'm turning the page and I'm worried about the Washington Redskins,” Prescott said. “I have people that handle that. My focus is on this team, on the football game. I think as long as I can keep continuing to do that, this will do things like we did tonight. As I said, that's been out of my focus for the past week, and I told you guys that.”
Prescott has three very good options in Cooper, Gallup, and Cobb. Kellen Moore is opening up the offense and allowing Dak to show the kind of arm talent that was limited under previous Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan. Virtuoso performances like these could happen more often in Dallas, which would ultimately result in a huge contract extension for Prescott, which he's earned. This was the second consecutive regular-season game that he had at least 375 yards passing and four touchdowns, both against the Giants. Don't be surprised if he's locked up long-term within the next week or so.
