Blogging The Boys
Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Jess Haynie, Tom Ryle, and Sean Martin.
Dak Prescott’s composure and sequencing under pressure, like the 18-yard strike to Jake Ferguson with seconds left. set up Brandon Aubrey’s 64-yarder to force overtime. Prescott then showed the same level of level-headedness in overtime when he added a gutsy 14-yard scramble after guiding the walk-off drive capped by a 46-yard field goal. He finished with 361 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and extended his personal win streak over the Giants to 14 straight. Cowboys fans should take real confidence from that overtime drive as it showcased clock management, pocket poise, and opportunistic legs, traits that translate when the stakes rise in January.
Howman: What stood out most to me is that Dak was playing pretty poorly for the whole game, but he turned it on in crunch time. He’s always been a clutch player – he ranks sixth among active starters in fourth quarter comebacks – but I think this is the first time we’ve actually seen him play poorly and then turn it on at the end.
Jess: I don’t feel that Prescott played that poorly early, but more that the overall offensive rhythm was off. Once they found it, he was more than fine. And to show up like he did at the end, tying Tony Romo for all-time comeback wins in team history, is just a reminder of how unappreciated Dak often goes with sectors of Cowboys fans. He’s far from perfect, but he’s often better than given credit for.
Tom: He was certainly clutch down the stretch. I’m like Jess in that I think the whole offense was out of sync before the fourth quarter, but they found themselves when it mattered. Now let’s see them have a better game from the jump so I don’t get so completely exhausted watching them.
Sean: Prescott’s ability to be the steady presence at QB around chaos everywhere else in this game is what stood out to me. This was the same thing Tony Romo was praised for throughout his career, but was mostly a result of the Cowboys not supporting him. Right now for Prescott, the Cowboys have the guys they like as a supporting cast, but many of them are new and/or young players still getting acclimated. There were more plays to be made by CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and Jalen Tolbert in this game, but Prescott was the one that made sure the clutch plays got executed, even taking matters into his own hands with a scramble to set up the winning field goal.
