When you’ve played as well as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has through the first 2 months of the regular season, people tend to start taking it for granted.
That’s why it was so shocking to watch Prescott struggle in a 44-24 blowout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8 — a game in which he finished the game on the sideline watching backup quarterback Joe Milton lead the team.
While Prescott getting pulled was just precaution, and the Broncos have the NFL’s best pass rush, it was still a blow to see a player being thrown about as a possible NFL MVP candidate not be able to get the ball to star wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens with any consistency.
It was also why Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave Prescott an “F” grade — his first failing grade of the season — for the game against the Broncos.
Prescott was 19-of-31 passing for 188 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions against Denver.
“Prescott’s second interception proved to be the point of no return,” Sobleski wrote. “The Broncos’ defense is counted among the league’s best. Then again, no quarterback had played at a more consistently high level than Prescott through the first seven weeks. The latter wasn’t up to the task during this particular meeting … The Cowboys defense isn’t good enough to win games without the offense performing at a high level. Prescott can’t have off-weeks, like he did against Denver.”
Cowboys Have Bounce Back Opportunity in Week 9
Prescott’s bad game against the Broncos also ended one of the great hot streaks by a quarterback in recent years. He had 4 consecutive games with at least 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, which was just 2 games short of tying the NFL record.
If the Cowboys can shake off the disappointment from the loss to the Broncos quickly, they have a unique opportunity to bounce back in a big way and stay in playoff contention.
After dropping to 3-4-1, the Broncos have a highly winnable game in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football and right before the NFL trade deadline on November 4, where the Cowboys are expected to bring in help to shore up the NFL’s worst defense.
Dallas has a bye in Week 10 followed by a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders which will likely be more like a home game for the Cowboys. That’s followed by consecutive home games against last year’s NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and last year’s AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
So if the Cowboys can beat the Cardinals and Raiders then split the 2 games against Super Bowl contenders at home, that would put them very much still in the playoff hunt.
Prescott’s MVP Hopes Might Be Cooked
The only thing that might be out the window after the loss to the Broncos is Prescott’s faint MVP hopes — he finished as NFL MVP runner-up to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in 2023.
What’s not out the window for Prescott in terms of individual honors is winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year. If Prescott can get the Cowboys back to the playoffs after missing 9 games in 2024 with a torn hamstring, he might be a lock.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Gets Shockingly Low Grade After Blowout Loss appeared first on Heavy Sports.