As we enter the week that the NFL conference championship games will be played, the Dallas Cowboys can only look on in wonder.
How did this happen?
How did another season full of hope, arguably the most hope Cowboys fans have had this century, once again end in disappointment?
Instead of preparing for the San Francisco 49ers for the third year in a row, the Cowboys have to watch the Detroit Lions stand where Dallas should have been standing.
The Cowboys emerged victorious over those Lions in a huge Week 17 matchup marred by the “failure to report-gate” scandal to secure the 2nd seed in the conference.
A home Wildcard matchup with the red-hot 7th seed Green Bay Packers was supposed to lead to a guaranteed home game in the Divisional round.
What’s more infuriating is knowing that this Cowboys team and its nine All-Pro selections should have been the NFC favorite right behind San Francisco.
The grades prove that point, and that’s the series I will be kicking off today.
Please join me, Cowboys Nation, in all your pain and anger to review 2023 grades by position group.
When you see just how good they are, you just might get angry all over again.
All grades and stats are provided by Pro Football Focus Premium.
Quarterbacks
The heading might be plural, but I see no need to include backup QB Cooper Rush too much in this grading.
Rush played only a handful of snaps on the season, and they were in mop-up duty.
Dak Prescott
PFF Overall Grade (NFL Rank): 90.0 (3rd)
PFF Passing Grade (NFL Rank): 87.0 (3rd)
PFF Rushing Grade (NFL Rank): 78.6 (8th among qualified quarterbacks)
Dak Prescott was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL in the 2023 regular season.
His 2nd-team All-Pro nod is evidence that he took his game to a level he’d never reached before in his career.
What was the catalyst for this newly found command of the Cowboys’ offense?
The most likely culprit is HC Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy has been known as somewhat of a quarterback guru throughout his coaching career, and the departure of former play-caller Kellen Moore allowed McCarthy to unlock Prescott.
The Stats
Looking at the raw numbers posted on the home page of any statistical website is fun to do, but taking a deeper dive tells us more.
Prescott finished with 4,516 yards passing on 69.4% completions while throwing an NFL-leading 36 touchdown passes.
Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that the offense didn’t find it’s groove until Week 6.
Prescott’s worst game of his career versus the 49ers in Week 5 was the jumpstart the offense needed to finish as the #1 scoring offense in all of football.
His 87.0 passing grade was third behind only Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
A quarterback in elite company has to right to be called elite, does he not?
What really set Dak (and the other two passers) ahead of the rest of the pack were the detailed stats that no one pays attention to until they’re pointed out.
Those stats are big time throws, turnover worthy plays, and adjusted completion percentage.
Big Time Throws
Big time throws are defined as passes with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further downfield or in a tighter window.
Prescott completed 41 big-time throws, second only to Josh Allen (42), and his big-time throw percentage (5.9%) is fifth among quarterbacks with 10 games played.
When I think of big time throws, I think of the seam routes that Prescott has gotten so well at.
Troy Aikman had the skinny post. Tony Romo had the back shoulder fade. Dak’s throw is the safety-splitting seam.
Turnover Worthy Plays
PFF defines turnover worthy plays as throws that have a high percentage chance to be intercepted.
Prescott ranks 13th among quarterbacks to play at least 10 games with 17 turnover worthy plays.
That rank might not seem like much of an accomplishment, but consider this.
Dak’s nearly leading the NFL in big time throw percentage into tight windows, yet only nine of those plays resulted in an interception is more than acceptable.
Adjusted Completion Percentage
Adjusted completion percentage basically takes the number of passes dropped by pass-catchers and counts them as completions because the quarterback was on target.
Adjusting the completion percentage for drops, Prescott’s true completion percentage jumps up to 77.0%.
That’s good enough for eighth in the NFL among quarterbacks playing in at least 10 games.
Grade: A
I give Dak Prescott an “A” grade for his 2023 season.
After a slow start, he commandeered his offense into the highest scoring offense in the NFL, and also first in many other categories.
In the wins, Prescott was masterful, and he beat the teams he was supposed to beat.
That’s the main goal of a starting quarterback in the NFL.
In the losses, his defense gave him no help, and he can’t be held completely at fault.
Most of Cowboys Nation doesn’t want to admit it, but Dak Prescott is still the best option at quarterback for this team moving forward.