No matter what certain “experts” said prior to last night’s game, the Dallas Cowboys certainly missed Dak Prescott in their blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals. That reality is driven home even more today when you look at the NFL statistical leaders, where Prescott is still leading the league in passing yards despite missing one game and nearly half of another.
Dak put up 1,856 yards in Weeks 1-5 for a jaw-dropping 371.2 average. If you adjust that to reflect missing the second half of the Giants game, the number is well above 400 yards per game.
That total is still good for first place among all NFL passers after Week 6. Matt Ryan isn’t far behind with 1,843 yards and a few others are in the 1,700s. But they’ve all had about six extra quarters of football to get their numbers.
For quarterbacks who’ve only played in five games so far in 2020, Russell Wilson is the next-closest to Dak with 1,502 yards.
If you weren’t already appreciating it prior to his absence, Dak Prescott was clearly having a special season in terms of passing production. He was on pace to smash the single-season record for a Cowboys quarterback (4,903 yards by Tony Romo in 2012) and perhaps even the all-time NFL record of 5,477 yards by Peyton Manning in 2013.
Sure, some of those big numbers were due to continuous comeback situations and going up against prevent defenses. The production rate would have slowed down if Dallas was more competitive in games.
Nevertheless, it’s a notable anomaly that we get to enjoy for at least a few more days. It’s also a sobering reminder, especially after last night, that the Cowboys have something special at the QB position in Dak Prescott.
Let’s hope they remember that this offseason.
