The Dallas Cowboys have perfected the art of the January heartbreak. Over time, we have watched them play extremely well during the regular season, only to watch the entire operation come apart in the playoffs. What starts out as hope and a chance to break the long-lasting Divisional Round curse inevitably turns into another letdown and another year added to this dreadful streak. It is exhausting.
There are plenty of people deserving of blame. The front office gets a lot of it, often accused of not stocking enough groceries in the cabinet to supply the team with what they need come playoff time. Others point fingers at the coaching staff, who have been out-schemed by their counterparts when things matter most. And finally, there are the players who sometimes just fail to make enough plays. It is a team game, and there is plenty of blame to go around.
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While you can scrutinize these playoff performances and come up with a laundry list of offenders, one of the most notable culprits has been quarterback Dak Prescott. Fans come at him routinely, and recently, Emmanuel Acho claimed that it is Prescott, and not Jerry Jones, who has held this team back when the postseason rolls around.
The hard truth is that Acho does have a leg to stand on with this argument. This is not to suggest that everything is Prescott’s fault, but there is a mountain of evidence showing that when it is time to be great, Dak has fallen a bit short. We owe it to ourselves to be transparent about those shortcomings. So, what exactly can we say about Prescott’s performance that supports his critics?
It’s important to clarify that this isn’t suggesting that Prescott has been terrible in the postseason. He has played decently and, at times, pretty darn well. The real issue, however, is that more often than not, he just does not elevate his game to the level needed to help his team come out on top. Where exactly is he falling short?
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Paralysis by Analysis
Prescott is as good as anyone when he can see what is going on and make quick decisions. When he is sharp, in a good rhythm, and getting the ball out on time, he can be super fun to watch. Unfortunately, the kitchen gets a little hot come playoff time, and smart coaching will challenge his medulla oblongata.
When things are not as he expects post-snap, it can get a little dicey. He will hold the ball too long and miss out on key hot routes designed to get him out of trouble. The result is costly sacks or wasteful throwaways on third down that kill much-needed drives. In the playoffs, when possessions are precious, there is simply no room for stalled drives.
Off-Balance Misfires
When elite defenses are coming right at you, it is hard to stay composed and deliver perfect throws. The mental element is just one part of the equation. There have been many instances where you can see Prescott get a little rattled and succumb to internal pressure. Sometimes he can be a little too amped up and be off target.
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Whether it is panicked footwork or just poor mechanics reacting out of haste, it has led to some wildly errant throws in the playoffs. There have been several instances where Dak has sailed the ball over the head of his intended receiver or thrown behind them. These things happen, but when they happen on crucial third downs when continuing the drive is paramount to keeping his team in the game, it stings. But those moments pale in comparison to this next one.
Blatant Misreads
Interceptions happen, but when they happen in the playoffs, they can be detrimental to the season. Sadly, the picks Dak has thrown over the team’s last three playoff exits have had a catastrophic effect on the outcome of the games. He has thrown five interceptions across those three matchups. Four of those picks were thrown deep in Dallas territory, turning into immediate points for the opposition. The one interception that wasn’t in their own territory happened when the offense was on the verge of scoring in a nail-biter of a game where points were scarce.
It is not just that these throws hurt their chances. It is the manner in which they happened that is tough to stomach. All five of these picks were balls that never should have been thrown. We are not talking about tipped passes or bad-luck deflections off a receiver’s hands. These were moments where the defense had him completely figured out, watched his eyes, and smothered his intended target. Throwing into heavy coverage will crush your team’s chances, and unfortunately, Dak has just done this too many times in recent playoff games.
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Look at the evidence over his last three playoff appearances:
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First pick: Threw into coverage, setting up an immediate Deebo Samuel touchdown
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Second pick: Threw right into the arms of a defender in his own territory, gifting the 49ers a field goal
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Third pick: Threw into heavy coverage in the red zone, wiping away guaranteed Dallas points
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Fourth pick: Threw into coverage deep in his own territory, giving the Packers an easy touchdown
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Fifth pick: Entirely missed the defender who jumped the route, resulting in a 64-yard Packers pick-six
The Warm-Up Effect
Mistakes on offense can have severe consequences, especially when the defense cannot keep its opponents out of the end zone. That happened in both playoff games Prescott played against the Packers, but it is not always just a defensive collapse. Sometimes an inefficient offense does plenty of damage on its own, which is exactly what happened in both of Dak’s playoff games against the 49ers. In either scenario, the offense played a major part in digging a massive hole early in the game. And it always seems to happen:
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2016: Trailed by 18 points, scoring only three points until late in the second quarter
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2018: Trailed by 16 points, scoring only seven points until late in the third quarter
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2021: Trailed by 13 points, failing to score until late in the second quarter
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2022: Failed to score a single point until midway through the second quarter
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2023: Trailed by a staggering 27 points, failing to score until the clock hit zero in the second quarter
Even in Prescott’s first-ever playoff win against Seattle in 2018, the Cowboys only had three points with less than 30 seconds to go in the second quarter. They just never get rolling early. Ever.
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Whether it is falling short on third down or making errant throws that give the opponent free points, this tendency to repeatedly dig a massive ditch in playoff games has completely ruined their chances in recent years. Prescott deserves a lot of credit for continuing to fight, and there have been moments where he has gotten the team right back into the thick of things. The problem is that when they continuously fly too close to the sun, they’re just asking to get burned.
Discussing Prescott and playoffs is difficult because he plays well, mostly. The thing is, if the Cowboys are ever to have a deep playoff run or sniff another championship, something has to be elevated. Maybe that something is a stellar defense or a brilliant coaching staff. Other teams with lesser quarterbacks have made that work with those exact things. And frankly, it has made some fans jealous to the point where they convince themselves that Prescott hasn’t gotten a fair shake.
But he has. That’s because there is another option that remains, and that is for Prescott to be the thing that is elevated. That is not a crazy expectation. Dak is compensated heavily, and it is totally fair to expect a player who commands that type of team resources to make a bigger impact. He has to, at some point, be the guy who punishes aggressive defensive attacks instead of falling victim to them. When the clock is running down, he has to make that throw. He has to be that guy.
While Prescott is by no means the problem in Dallas, he has not been the solution either. That does not mean he won’t be, but the secret ingredient for the Cowboys’ success is not some big front-office trade or a shortage of receiving weapons. It is Dak. He is the secret ingredient, and when the Cowboys finally do get over the hump, it is going to be because Prescott played like a champion quarterback.
