Getty Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky says Cowboys franchise quarterback Dak Prescott isn't to blame for the team's rough start to the season.
The Dallas Cowboys are 1-2 after a Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and next up, they’re taking on the New York Giants in a high-profile Thursday evening matchup at MetLife Stadium on September 26. Following the Ravens loss, the Cowboys are 29th in rush success rate, which is not a good look. But, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN football expert Dan Orlovsky says Cowboys franchise quarterback Dak Prescott isn’t to blame.
“I don’t think there is an offense in football that sets their quarterback up to fail more than the Cowboys do with Dak Prescott,” Orlovsky said while appearing on the Thursday, September 26, edition of ESPN’s Get Up.
Dan Orlovsky Slams Cowboys for Making It ‘Hard’ on Dak Prescott
“I don’t think there is an offense in football that sets their quarterback up to fail more than the Cowboys do with Dak Prescott.”
During Dallas’ game against Baltimore, Prescott threw for 379 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, but the Cowboys only clocked 51 rushing yards for the entire game, and the defense got pummeled for 456 total yards. The game brought out some frustration in Prescott, but Orlovsky says the Cowboys are making it “as hard as possible” on Prescott.
“The fundamental ways to get your quarterback to play better, or make it easier to play better, you run the football,” Orlovsky said. “The Cowboys can’t. You use play action. The Cowboys don’t. You use motion. The Cowboys don’t. You throw screens. The Cowboys don’t. They are bottom three or four in a couple [of the categories], bottom 10 in essentially all of them. In many ways they are saying ‘Dak Prescott, we want this to be as hard as possible on you.'”
Dak Prescott: ‘We’ve Got to Be Cleaner’
Speaking after the Cowboys’ loss to the Ravens in a postgame press conference, Prescott expressed his frustration with the game. When asked about the team’s “slow start,” he said it was “very frustrating, especially when you’re playing a quarterback that like on that side,” referring to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“An offense that powerful, you just can’t do it, honestly,” he added. “Just holding some of the defensive guys, we have to look in the mirror. Us offense first, and we have to help them. I know they’re standing. They don’t allow 28 points against an MVP player (Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson) and an offense like that. It’s a game that we have to score 30, and we know it. We didn’t, so it started late.”
He added, “That’s the biggest part of it. The penalties and some errors. I guess you can say whether it be alignment, whether it be assignment, we’ve got to be cleaner. We’ve got to lock in and be more focused on our job, take accountability in every position and grow.”
When asked if he feels he needs to do more as a “leader,” Prescott said, “Yeah.”
“If guys are dwelling and guys are sitting on a loss or back-to-back losses, I’ve got to obviously speak up and let them know that it’s over with,” he said. Later, he added, “We just have to understand the process, trust the process and be accountable. Every single one of us, including myself, and move on.”
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Former NFL QB Rips Cowboys for Handling of Dak Prescott