Following the Dallas Cowboys’ underwhelming performance this season, fans and critics of Dak Prescott have begun to accuse the quarterback of having taken and run away with owner Jerry Jones‘ money. In reality, Prescott has not run enough. The quarterback has 24 rushing yards through seven games this season.
Dak Prescott is not a conventional QB who can only throw from within the pocket, nor is he a dual-threat quarterback like Lamar Jackson. He falls in between the two archetypes.
While rushing is not his strongest suit, he has shown that he can run the ball when needed. This season, however, Prescott has fewer rushing yards than conventional pocket quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco.
It has not been easy for the team this season. Dak Prescott has struggled on the offensive end, and the offensive line has been one cause. When the quarterback was asked, “How crazy is it that you have fewer rushing yards than Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton, and Joe Flacco, who just started?” while speaking to the media, he could not help but laugh and responded with:
Dude, you’re funny. It’s bad. It’s bad man. It is (crazy) A lot of stats are crazy, yeah, bad.
Dak Prescott during a media availability
Dak Prescott could not believe that this was the case and put his palm on his face for a moment as he attempted to figure out how to respond to this question.
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have been playing with no semblance of a rushing attack
The shocking part is that Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton, and Joe Flacco are all in their late 30s. Flacco has played in just four games so far this season but has eclipsed Dak Prescott in terms of rushing yards. In all fairness, the blame cannot be placed entirely on the quarterback. The Cowboys have limited Ezekiel Elliott’s usage and Dalvin Cook has yet to impact the offense.
Rico Dowdle leads the team’s rushing attack with 246 yards on 59 touches and zero touchdowns this season. Dallas is heavily reliant on the passing game which has made their offense predictable. The blame should fall on Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who have not been creative with the pieces they have on the roster.
Dallas has been a wreck this season. In previous years, the team managed to play well through the regular season with a few speedbumps in between, but this year, it has been one hump after the other. With a 3-4 record so far, the road is about to get rockier for them. The Cowboys face the 5-3 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
