In the aftermath of the Cowboys’ brutal showing during their 28-25 loss to the Ravens, their second straight loss to open the year at home, few of the team’s players were eager to talk. The one guy who probably performed best, though, did have something to say: a warning for those fans who would batter the team now that it’s fallen to 1-2.
That was Dak Prescott. His message: We don’t really need you, anyway.
Video of Prescott (shared on Twitter/X by Jeff Beachum of CBS News Texas) coming off the field after the loss to the Ravens shows Prescott walking briskly to the locker room. Seeing a camera, Prescott said, “Jump off if you want.”
That was a tempting impulse for many in Cowboys Nation after Sunday’s debacle against the previously winless Ravens, who trampled a Dallas team that was disjointed offensively and steamrolled defensively over the course of the 60-minute game. Dallas trailed, 28-6, before rallying for 19 fourth-quarter points, but the deficit proved insurmountable.
Prescott is clearly indicating that many who purport to support the Cowboys are frontrunners and bandwagon-jumpers. With the way the Cowboys have looked in the past two weeks—they were routed, 44-19, by the Saints in Week 2—it’s hard to blame the Dallas faithful for having some doubt, though.
Cowboys Offensive Group Was Overmatched
Certainly, Prescott shares the frustration around the team. He was one of the few on the roster who played well from whistle to whistle, who kept trying to push his offense even as things looked grim. In all, Prescott went 28-for-51 passing and 379 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times.
It was too much to ask Prescott to come back against a team with a deep offense and tough defense.
“I know the defense didn’t want to allow 28 points, but 28 against an offense like that, that’s a game where we have got to score 30,’’ Prescott said after the game, via the Dallas Morning News. “It was a very frustrating start, especially when you’re playing a quarterback like that, that explosive. You just can’t do it.’’
The defense did not do much to help Prescott on the day, but then, neither did his offensive teammates. There were dropped passes, an offensive line that struggled at times and, predictably, a running-back “committee” that again proved entirely ineffective. Dallas was outgained on the ground, 274 yards to just 51.
The passing game had its issues, too, with Prescott struggling to get star receiver CeeDee Lamb going for most of the game. Lamb was clearly frustrated, sniping on the sidelines at Prescott and slamming the turf on the field after a missed connection with Prescott.
For Lamb, a player who vowed to show more maturity in 2024, it was an especially disappointing result. He had just four catches on seven targets, for 67 yards. While much was made among Cowboys fans about Lamb’s behavior, Prescott tried to brush it off.
“Reading body language, I’m not really into it,” Prescott said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m just into making sure that he doesn’t get down on himself. The body language, whether it’s good or it’s bad, it’s irrelevant, it’s where his mind is. And so, he’s going to be disappointed when you’re passionate and when you expect a lot from yourself. You’re going to be that way.
“So for me, it’s about just letting him know, ‘Hey, next play, wipe it clean.’ Who cares what happens when you have an opportunity to fix it this next play or make a better play? If you’re sitting in that, dwelling on that, your mind’s not in the right place to move forward.”
