Getty Dak Prescott vs. Browns
Travis Frederick unknowingly set into motion a devastating domino effect along the Dallas Cowboys‘ offensive line when the perennial Pro Bowl center abruptly retired in March. Seven months later, the same line Frederick left is barely recognizable.
His replacement, Joe Looney? Out multiple weeks with an MCL sprain.
His All-Pro friend, left tackle Tyron Smith? Out for the season due to a neck issue.
His one-time mentee, right tackle La’el Collins? Out for the year following hip surgery.
His former quarterback, Dak Prescott? Out for answers.
“It’s a challenge. Life’s a challenge. So I mean, we’ve got to step up and answer it,” Prescott said Thursday when asked about the injuries, via USA Today.
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From the best, most imposing front-five in football to a mish-mash of forgettable faces. From clean pockets to strip-sacks. From a foundational strength to a glaring weakness. From Frederick’s announcement to the Cowboys’ 1-3 start. Dominoes.
And the biggest loser has been Prescott. Sacked a career-low 23 times in 2019, the two-time Pro Bowl passer has already gone down nine times through four games. He’s absorbed 27 hits (11 in Week 3) and, as a result, lost three fumbles, contributing to the team’s league-worst turnover differential (-7).
This is nothing Dak isn’t used to — for example, the 2016 fourth-rounder has never shared a full season with Smith, who’s missed 26 games across the last five years — but it’s simultaneously foreign territory. Name another NFL QB absent three-fifths of his starting blockers; you can’t.
Name another QB throwing behind a pair of undrafted free agents (Brandon Knight, Terence Steele). Name another QB whose top protector (Zack Martin) could be forced to play an entirely different position thanks to the injury bug termiting the depth chart. Name another QB whose faith isn’t rattled despite persistent emotional and physical detriments.
You can’t.
“These are professional athletes and NFL offensive linemen we’re talking about. I’ve got confidence that they can do the job or they simply wouldn’t be out there and they wouldn’t be on the team,” Prescott said Thursday, via The Athletic.
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Dak Addresses ‘Job Security’ as Starting QB
Regretfully complicit, Prescott bemoaned the self-inflicted miscues attributed to the team’s 1-3 start, underscored by consecutively sloppy losses.
“Ball security is job security,” Prescott told reporters Thursday, via NFL Network’s Jane Slater.
It’s difficult to pick nits with Prescott to this point. He leads the league in passing yards (1,690) and completions (137) while guiding the top-ranked offense in total yards per game (509.5). The franchise-tagged signal-caller is on pace to finish with a mind-blowing 6,760 air yards, which would shatter the current NFL record (5,477) set by Peyton Manning in 2013. He’s been Good Dak more often than not in another contract year.
But Bad Dak’s reared its ugly head, too. Prescott has tossed three interceptions across his last two starts, including a pair in Dallas’ Week 3 defeat at Seattle — this, on top of his aforementioned fumbles.
“Trust me, I do not like where we are with the turnover ratio,” head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. “Everyone clearly understands that on our team.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL