Prescott Sharpening Up For Cowboys

When Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy revamped the passing game and took over the play calling during the offseason, Sunday afternoon’s thumping of the Rams was exactly what he envisioned.

Except for an interception that was deflected twice, it was a near perfect performance from Dak Prescott.

He looked rested, sharp and in complete control from the very first snap – despite being sacked twice in the first four plays of the opening drive.

He used his eyes, his arm and his legs to beat the Rams into the submission for three and half quarters before giving way to Cooper Rush to finish up the blowout.

After those first sacks, Prescott appeared elusive. It was the Prescott we saw two weeks ago in the Cowboys win over the Chargers.

With chaos happening all around him, thanks to Aaron Donald and Michael Hoecht trying to wreck the Cowboys game plan, he was able to elude the defense on multiple occasions by either stepping up in the pocket or finding his way through a crease and out into the open for a decent gain with his legs. He earned the Cowboys two of their six rushing first downs on those exact plays.

When he did have the time, he was accurate. The ball was on time on nearly every throw, and of the six passes that he didn’t complete, five of those were knocked away by Rams defenders. The other was an overthrow on his deepest pass attempt of the game.

He completed the other 25 attempts – 12 of which went to CeeDee Lamb, who was running precise routes from the outside and the slot.

Prescott made perfect throws into tight windows, and this week Lamb, Jake Ferguson, Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks made the catches.

It started on the first drive, when he placed the ball perfectly over two defenders and where only outstretched arms of Ferguson could snag it for the games first touchdown.

He was on such a heater, McCarthy trusted him to throw on fourth and one from the Rams 37-yard line in the most pivotal sequence of the game’s second half – after Los Angeles scored touchdowns to end the first half and begin the second half and cut the Dallas lead to two scores.

It was the 19-play, 10-minute drive that put the game away for good, despite it ending just a field goal.

When it was over, Dallas had a three-score lead and there was just 16:32 left in the game. That would be a mountain too high to climb.

Prescott would finish off the Rams with one final dagger, a 25-yard TD strike to Cooks that sent most of the important starters, including Prescott, to the bench.

It had to have been about as close to what McCarthy was hoping for when he cut loose former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, changed to a ball-control offense and took over the play calling duties.

Now that we know it can be done, and Prescott has the chops to do it.

Can it be duplicated? Might as well test that theory immediately.

Because they’ll need every bit of the game Prescott played against the Rams next Sunday when they take on the Eagles at The Linc in Philadelphia.