Getty Dak Prescott (middle) being sandwiched by Arik Armstead (right) and Nick Bosa of the 49ers.
From the Cowboys perspective, it was not the performance they were looking for, not on a Sunday night stage against the 49ers, the team that had eliminated them in the last two postseasons. For quarterback Dak Prescott, it was further evidence that the 49ers are his kryptonite and that the Cowboys remain paper tigers.
Prescott went 14-for-24 passing for 153 yards in a brutal 42-10 blowout for the Cowboys, one that featured three especially poor Prescott INTs.
“[We] didn’t see it coming,” Prescott said after the game, via 49ers Web Zone. “As you said, we put everything into this and got punched in the mouth. I called it a couple of weeks ago humbling against Arizona but this may be the most humbling game I’ve ever been a part of. Felt good about the preparation, felt good about everything, honestly, coming into this game, matchups too, and they beat us in every aspect.”
If it seems that Prescott was being a bit hard on himself, have no fear: the Internet was being harder. When you are supposed to be a star quarterback but you throw three interceptions in the biggest game of the year, it comes with the territory.
How many INTs did Dak Prescott throw in one game???
“I won’t have 10 Interceptions this year.’” – Dak Prescott
MFer threw 3 alone tonight 💀
It even got this bad: Cowboys superfan Skip Bayless declared he was done with Dak. Yes, this 49ers defense will do that.
That’s it. I am DONE DONE with Dak Prescott. Jerry should be, too.
Shanahan: Win Means ‘Absolutely Nothing’
In the wake of the blowout, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was happy but reined in any sense of jubilation—he would not have been disappointed, necessarily, if the team had lost.
Asked what this win means, Shanahan responded, “Absolutely nothing. If we would’ve lost this game, we would’ve been 4-1 and now we’re 5-0. I mean it’s exciting and all this is fun, but I’ve been in the NFL way too long, been 5-0 and haven’t made the playoffs before. All that stuff really doesn’t matter.”
It was a highly anticipated matchup between what appear to be two of the three best teams in the NFC this season, with the Eagles. But Shanahan said his team never bought into any of that, and that there was no special motivation to deliver a message to Prescott or Dallas.
“The way people talked about it during the week, we didn’t see it that way,” Shanahan said. “I told our team last night whether we win or lose this game, I expect it to make us better. If we go out there and play like we’re capable of, we should feel that and be able to carry it on the next week and get better. And if we go out there and we get beat, as long as we do it the right way, I think it’ll make us better going forward after that.”
49ers a Big Problem for Prescott
But you do have to wonder whether the game will send Prescott back a bit—it won’t help his reputation of flopping in big games, especially against the 49ers.
Again, leave it to the Internet on that.
Mike McCarthy: Dak please stop throwing interceptions.
Dak Prescott:
DAK PRESCOTT STEPS BACK TO PASS!
“How much more evidence do you need to see in big spots?”
@ChrisCanty99 questions whether Dak Prescott should be part of the Cowboys future. #UnSportsmanLike
The Cowboys are a good team, and it’s possible that the 49ers will see them in January. Prescott was asked how they can close the gap.
“Over the rest of the season,” he said. “Obviously, they’re further ahead than us right now. We’ve got to close that gap and be ready, as you said, to get to where we want to get. We know we’re going to have to go through this team and most likely come back through this place.”
For now, Prescott tipped his cap to San Francisco.
“We got to give them credit,” he said, “a team like that with a powerful, powerful offense and a disciplined defense. … There’s a lot of self-inflicted things. We can’t do that in a game like this against a team like this. That’s part of being far off and that’s part of closing the gap and getting better.”