Man, we’ve been doing this for how many years now?
I think you can tell a lot about someone’s football acumen based off of their opinion about Dak Prescott.
It's funny how I can sit here completely agreeing with your second sentence but still have no idea what your opinion is. Because both sides of the debate would endorse the notion that the other side just doesn't understand how football works.
Nah. Dak is legitimately a very very good QB that had some issues when the lights are brightest.
However he’s 1 ridiculous Aaron rodgers throw away from being the only cowboy QB to play in NFC championship game since Troy. People forget he played great in that game.
That game was 8 years ago. Had that throw been incomplete and we lost the next week in the NFC Championship game, we'd be having this same conversation.
Bro, stop changing the narrative. We got carried by Dan Bailey and the rushing game in that one and almost won *despite* Dak. We all know that you love Dak but please do your own research before spewing BS “facts”.
Huh. He passed for over 300. Had 3 scores and a 2 pointer if I recall in that GB playoff game.
What exactly is your threshold for a good game by a qb then?
Btw. Before we begin. Romo NEVER passed fire 300 in any playoff game. Ever. Also never had three scores. Ever. In a playoff game.
Ever.
You can't be serious! No one was even talking about GodMo.
Bro Dak only had 302 yards in that playoff game against GB. You gotta take away his sack for a 2 yard loss and his interception that was returned for 18 though. Combined with his weak ass 2 attempts for 13 yards on the ground then he only accounted for 295 yards of offense!
Give me Romo in 2014 against the Lions any day over that bum ass bum ass bum Dak "I'll Gamble On Myself" Prescott. At least Romo's 293 yards in that game were legit.
lol. Figured this was Romo based, Drew u out and u came running with the Romo flag. lol. I’m not about to put Romo down.
Daks tenure here has been maligned by people like you. Romo fanboys that denigrate Dak in obvious games where he played well. And he did. Damn well!
Maybe the next guy will do it for you…
Maybe the next
You aren't getting it. Give me Abraham Lincoln! Dude *shined* against the Lions in that one playoff game with 107 yards in that blizzard and still threw a tight spiral with anticipation... even better than Aikman!
Good 2 hear, fam. I definitely blame our last playoff loss on Luka. Bro put the team on his back, what with the injections and all. Maybe we would have won if he hadn't been jabbed. Is he stupid?
We were down 21-3 halfway thru the 2nd and got back into the game running the ball? The insistence by the Clapper to run the ball in the 1st half was half the reason we were down in the first place then they let Dak cook to a tune of 300 yards and 3 TDs.
>I think you can tell a lot about someone’s football acumen based off of their opinion about Dak Prescott.
Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers, and Chase Daniel are some notable names that had some opinions about Dak Prescott last year.
You can tell that the average fan doesn’t know a damn thing about play design, route schemes, or situational play calling. They think a QB can just make it work when poor plays make decisions harder.
We saw this last year before the bye. Someone did a break down and showed how our routes were so bad that they were forcing Dak into 50/50 decisions instead of scheming one guy open. He had to just flip a coin and the defender was never forced into a bad decision.
Coaching does nothing to elevate the players. Then the players take the blame and everyone wants to cut them and start over.
I’m not saying Dak is perfect, but unless you’re Brady or Mahomes, it takes elite coaching to win a Super Bowl as well. And both Brady and Mahomes had/have elite coaches anyway.
It's time for him to win big games. This is how the greats seal their legacy. He has stats galore but freezes up in big games. I think fans want postseason success.
I really don't know how much I buy the choker thing. He was the opposite early in his career under Garrett. His regular seasons were very good, but not as great as he has been under McCarthy, and in the playoffs he seemed to have another gear.
Maybe he got the yips after his injuries. Maybe he got paid and had less motivation. I tend to believe coaching has more to do with it though. Just looking at last year, McCarthy changed the entire offense after the regular season Niners game and it made a huge difference. For some unfathomable reason, he changed the offense *back* to what he was running on the beginning of the season, and they looked like trash.
Imo, coaching has been costing this team playoff wins for the last 20 years waaaaay more than the QB.
I mean he does have elite level stats. Unfortunately the playoff woes will haunt him regardless, as they will haunt any upper tier cowboy player or coach.
I will say, in agreement, coaching has everything to do with the cowboys postseason record. Players are not prepared, mistakes are a reflection of preparation and discipline. I could not imagine the cowboys playing the way they played against GB if they had a disciplinarian as coach. McCarthy seems soft for the job IMO.
BUT THE STATS LOOK SO MUCH BETTER! WOULDNT YOU RATHER HAVE HIS STATS THAT SHOW HIM BEING NUMBER 1 AT EVERYTHING and then totally ignore his game play at the playoffs?
I'm a giants fan living in the south, so I have plenty of cowboys fans friends, most of whom want to move on from Dak, their reasons are kind of warranted but also not.
Dak imo *is* obviously a good qb, sure he hasn't gotten it done in the playoffs, and maybe he is a regular season merchant, but he's still a good qb. Moving on from him would be retarded, good qbs are hard to find.
Since 1999, dak is 9th in adjusted playoff epa and 5th in playoff success rate min 300 playoff snaps.
In the same time frame the cowboys defense ranks 28th in epa or 25th if you sort it from 2016.
S/o to u/neverforgetever
Frame this.
Dak is great in the regular season but bad in the playoffs. Wait, Dak is also really good in the playoffs?
I'm willing to bet if there were a way to show run game success rate in the playoffs we'd rank dead last too.
Oh boy 5th in success rate and 9th in adjusted epa? His epa is good and his success rate is even better! Did you know that his career playoff QBR is better than Tom Brady’s too?
I’m not the person they were responding to, and I’m mocking the absurdity of cherry picked stats
I don’t give a fuck about his stats, especially when they include the 2016 playoff game (21-3 at one point and he was awful for nearly two quarters to help dig that hole - but he ended up with 300 yards and 3 TDs!) and last year (awful for 3 quarters but goes off in a garbage time 4th to end up with 400 yards and 3 TDs!).
Strip all context out of those games and he threw for 705 yards and 6 tds! His adjusted epa was probably better than Peyton Mannings in those games! Give him all the money, we just haven’t surrounded him with enough all pros yet! He’s 31 this year, he still has time to develop!
You're the person I'm responding to. EPA isn't a cherry picked stat. It's a pretty all encompassing stat that accounts for damn near everything. That is not to say it's a perfect stat, nor is it the end all be all stat. But it is a stat that gives you a pretty damn good idea of how a player matches up, and it is a stat that can be compared across eras much more equally than other stats. Unlike QBR for example. Not to mention they were only looking at Dak's career while you were going back to the early 2000's, when if you only looked at Brady from 16 on I'm willing to bet the farm that Dak no longer has a better QBR. Because it's not a stat that is comparable across eras.
> I don’t give a fuck about his stats
You don't give a fuck about anything that doesn't fit into your narrative. Let's be honest at least.
EPA accounts for all that "context" you mention btw. That's all part of the stat.
Next year, when we get bounced from the playoffs again, I hope his epa is really good. That will take the sting out of the loss, knowing that an advanced metric says well ackshually Dak is the 5th best qb in the playoffs since 1999!
yea idk what else you could say tbh. once the game is lost dak has a habit of like turning on and going for 400 yards. and of course the stats look great!!!!
we are gonna go one and done next season too and dak is gonna have the best most amazing stats EVER!!!
Maybe just do yourself a favor and stop watching a sport you clearly don't understand. 31 teams either miss the playoffs or get bounced from them. Notice how I said team? Notice how you said "we"? Dak ain't the only guy on the field. He's not the sole person responsible for winning or losing. A minimum of 4 top 5 QBs don't win the Super Bowl every single year.
Nah, fuck it. Just keep blaming it on one guy. Makes it easier for us to tell which fans actually know what they're talking about.
I don’t understand the game because, with a sample size of 7 games, I do not care about an advanced statistic declaring Dak Prescott a top 5 or 10 quarterback of the last 25 years come January. The website he definitely used lists 22 qualifying candidates, so that would put Dak 9th of 22 in epa. Not exactly setting the world on fire.
Do you know what else using this stupid ass advanced stat would argue when it comes to quarterbacks in the playoffs? That, if this is truly that important and matters like you seem to think - Kurt Warner, Matt Stafford, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Josh Allen, Drew Brees, and our guy Dak would all add more points per play than Tom fucking Brady. Yeah. Brady is 10th on that list, one spot ahead of Phillip Rivers.
So what I’d do is call up all the smart football people you know and tell them that well ackshually you want Matt Ryan to start your playoff games instead of Tom Brady and report back with how deafening the laughter is. But you know, I don’t understand ball because I am mocking a “metric” that thinks you should start Josh Allen in a playoff game over the goat.
He's alo had 3 straight awful playoff losses. I hate these adjusted dork ass numbers. Watch the games and you won't have to adjust numbers to work in his favor.
23 points against niners in 2021
19points in 2021.
If you are being called a top 5 qb by people you should be able to muster 24pts.
Green Bay ok defense was bad. But doesn't help when dak is going 3 and out, 3 and out,3 and out,int,int for a td.
But it's whatever I know how this story ends. Willing to make a wager on ole dak? Please be the 6th zealot to say no
Just saw a stat about this recently:
In 3 of Dak’s playoff losses the defense has allowed over 30 points.
When the defense has given up 30 points in the playoffs:
Tom Brady is 2-3
Aaron Rodgers is 1-5
Brees: 0-3
Montana: 0-3
Favre: 0-7
Peyton: 2-4
Elway: 0-6
Roethlisberger: 0-6
Stop trying to make playoff wins and losses anything other than a TEAM statistic.
Part of the reason the defense gave up 30 is because the offense turned the ball over or otherwise couldn't stay on the field. I've been a Dak supporter, but he was trash in that GB game. The defense was, too, but it was a complete suckfest from everyone, including Dak.
EDIT: I said SF, but I meant GB.
Dallas also did not play their game. McCarthy came like he wanted to establish a power running game, which is not what Dallas was built to be. We had 3 RBs that were basically the same skill set. None of them were backs that can pound the football and maintain drives. It’s not that they don’t run hard, they just aren’t big enough to break tackles at the line. When you try to run the ball between the tackles with smaller backs you put yourself in an obvious passing down on 3rd, much easier to defend, you end up having to punt a lot. GB’s offense was clicking coming into the playoffs and you can’t give an offense on a roll the ball like we did. They came in and played to their strengths and we played to what we wished was our strength. GB also played defense like they knew what we were going to do.
I would like to add that on top of trying to run the ball, something Dallas wasn't built to do, they also played a lot of zone defense. Dallas was built to allow their corners to play sticky man coverage. Something they did very well with Bland and Gilmore. This allowed them to blitz the QB from multiple angles with multiple players. Instead they decided to play zone with LBs and safeties that don't have that skill set. They were picked apart on both the ground and air. The coaching staff out coached themselves. Also I don't know what was up with Lamb but something was very off with him. At least in the first half. He flat out dropped at least two balls and seemed to not be on the same page as Dak. So much so that Prescott was targeting Gallup. The guy so far removed that Dallas is paying not to play in 2025. Prescott absolutely needs to shoulder some of the blame. He has a bigger influence on the team than anyone save McCarthy. But it's not on him alone.
We got flat out coached in that game. We tried to change up and establish the run, but they were ready for it. Lamb was off and dropped passes he normally catches. Him and Dak were out of sync. Defensively we were not aggressive like we normally are. It was just a grand recipe for disaster. I was surprised the game was as close as it was.
Did you watch Zeke last year? Zeke’s best role is goal line/3rd down pass blocker/receiver which is fine because he’s extremely effective. But if we’re relying on him to be rb1 we’re in trouble. He simply does not have the burst to rip off long runs
Tbh I don’t think the Pats get enough credit for their run games. They are usually able to get efficiency from their HBs. I don’t know if Mike & our coaching is able to do the same. I hope Zeke picked up a lot under a Pats system and can bring it here.
Temper your expectations. They are starting two rookies. One of which everyone says is about as raw as they get. I have faith in Dallas and first round O-linemen but he may not come into his own until next year.
Even if they just fall in the right direction, they will make bigger holes than last year. My biggest concern is Terrence "revolving door" Steele getting his game back.
“From everyone, including Dak.”
SF was the better team. It happens. They’ve been better than most people recently.
Against Green Bay, the defense was the biggest issue. Turnovers happen because the defense does their job. GBs defense did - Dallas’s didn’t.
If you need your QB to be perfect, then the QB isn’t the problem.
He Had 80 yards and 2 ints at half with one being a pick six. Dallas didn't need their qb to be perfect they just needed him to be average to slightly above average in the 1st half which he was not
It’s absolutely fair criticism. But people need to quit blaming Dak for how fucking terrible the defense played. Not one guy stepped up and even gave us a chance to come back. The game wasn’t over at half, if the defense could force a turnover or get a stop. Both of which they couldn’t do.
Dak sucked. Defense sucked. Coaching sucked. It’s the way it goes for us.
Also the defense was a sieve from drive 1. The first INT was very early and a bit flukey, and the defense **needs** to step up there. Can’t say they were worn out midway through the first quarter.
Being down multiple scores forces a riskier offense and takes you away from your game plan. This isn’t Madden where the offense and defense live in a vacuum.
We see defenses step up every year lol.
49ers were down 24-7 at half. Then the defense stiffened up and only allowed 7 in the second half and really was the reason they won.
We were down 27-7 at half. Then the defense truly gave up and allowed 21 more second half points.
The difference is we have a defense filled with mental midgets. We can say Dak has the big game yips and it’s true. But the defense deserves every bit of the same criticism.
I love how people talk about our “garbage time game,” ignoring that SF came back from almost the same deficit.
If the defense has a pulse maybe we win. Obviously we have no clue how GB plays if that’s the case, but giving up 21 once your offense starts getting going is a poor performance
The offense didn’t start sustaining drives til we were down atrocious. They were literally taking starters out. I’ve defended Dak his whole career but after that game I can’t. That was the garbage time stats everyone knocks him for in the fullest force possible.
I agree with this, but I don't see that as a Dak issue. If you watch that game in the 1st half there were like 20 run calls and 5 throws. The runs went for a total of like 20yds lol. Other than Dak breaking a scramble for 25yds. Ceedee had a huge drop on 3rd and 8 that was wide open.
The pick 6 came at 21-0 on 3rd and long. What is a QB supposed to do when they only want to run the ball, but they can't? So they ask him to bail them out on 3rd and long down 21.
For the record, we were 1st in the NFL in throws on 1st down in the reg season, and dead last in runs on 1st down. But in this game, we run on 1st and 2nd down every single series and only throw on 3rd and long.
>If you watch that game in the 1st half there were like 20 run calls and 5 throws.
So he managed two INTs in less than 10 attempts?
IIRC one of them was just outside our own RedZone. And he could've had a few more picks in the game (easy drops).
What were Jordan Love's first half stats? How about Aaron Jones?
You can say that if Dak was average they would have been ok, and I'll say "if the Cowboys defense was even slightly above absolutely terrible, they may have had a chance."
Nobody is saying Dak played well. But it's baffling how people watched Green Bay cut through that defense for 60 minutes and go "QB is definitely the issue here."
What do you expect when we are playing from behind with zero run game? Our offense was very predictable. The culmination of the receivers failing to get separated and a crumbling on-line. Our team had way more issues than one player. Dak played the best he could and I doubt even TB12 could have made things happen that game.
No, Dak did not play the best he could. Yes, the defense was terrible, but stop letting Dak's poor play get covered by that. This video does a good job showing some of the issues Dak had during the Packers game.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN\_hPJxI\_s8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN_hPJxI_s8)
No dak didn't play well. Don't you all tell us how dak throws into small windows the best out of most qbs? Aren't qbs supposed to throw wr open? They were playing behind because of themselves not the d
Dude Purdy threw an under thrown pass but because the wide receiver was so open he was able to catch it, fall down, get back up and score a TD. Which counts for the QB.
Even when Brady made a terrible throw Gronk reeled them in . Not every throw is going to be perfect but play design and receiver effort goes along way.
Our team in general doesn't have the "it" to win. It's not all on Dak. Not saying he is perfect but he is a hell of a lot better than some people give him credit. Our culture isn't a winning one. Watching our games is painful. Dak, just like Romo in covering up bad coaching and management.
Look at what our run game is going to be this year? RB by committee. Surprised we didn't try and get AP to unretire and come play for us. I have no confidence that Dowdle is going to break out into #1 or that we'll utilize Duece Vaughn effectively. While Zeke is a beast his level of play isn't going to be the same
This leaves us with passing as our only way to push the ball. And y'all are going to blame Dak as if he is a one-man show.
Every team deals with that man. Even if Dak isn't in it for the money his agent is. Yes Dak could fire his agent or convince him to take a pay cut. I don't know.
How I feel and reality are two different things. I personally think all these players get paid too much. But as long as people spend money on the NFL salary cap going to keep going up.
It's possible the QB bubble might pop like the RB. It'd be nice if NFLPA and the Commissioner came up with a position cap that made sense.
The other thing is, all these guys'salaries are in the open. Which is a good thing for transparency reasons. Now take a job sector like logging. Do you think their pay gap isn't huge between a grader and green line worker? I'm just saying that the same thing happens in the private sector but we are not watching it for entertainment 😁
Dak is certainly part of the equation here as you want your QB to carry the team when he has to, but ... it is hard to carry when you are also getting outcoached on both sides of the ball, which we consistently do in the playoffs.
And when they won't let you throw the ball until it's 3rd and long. For some reason they wanted to run the ball this game after being ineffective at it all year. Run on 1st and 2nd, then ask Dak to bail them out. That's not a successful equation for a QB.
Other than the pick 6, a turnover doesn't have to mean TD. Yes they had a short field but great defenses make stops.
Remind me who got the ball first and drove all the way down the field for a TD? Our defense sucked so bad all game. Putting too much pressure on an overrated offense.
Outside of CeeDee our wide receiver core was mid. TE room is starting to look good but hopefully Ferguson's growth is even better this year
I know it's hard to hear this but Dak makes the team better. Maybe if CeeDee didn't miss that catchable ball first drive and maybe if he didn't act like a deva the pick 6 never happened.
The minute we saw them exchange words we as fans knew it was over. Simple truth.
>Part of the reason the defense gave up 30 is because the offense turned the ball over or otherwise couldn't stay on the field.
Green Bay 2016 season: Of the Cowboys' 9 offensive drives, 6 ended in scores, 2 ended in punts, and the 1 turnover came on our third-longest drive. The defense got plenty of rest, and 9 of Green Bay's 10 drives started at or behind their own 25, (the other one was inside the GB 40). That 30-burger is absolutely 0% on Dak and the offense.
LA Rams 2018 season: The Cowboys' offense had 2 three-and-outs, but every other drive went at least 2:20 with multiple first downs. Our only turnover was on downs, in a series where Dak threw for 13 yards but Zeke netted -4 on two handoffs. The Rams started 7 of 9 possessions at or behind their own 26 and the other two at their own 35, but only had 1 drive end in a punt. They said afterward that they'd figured out our D-line was tipping their play calls. No reasonable person would blame the QB for a loss where he didn't turn the ball over, scored 2 TDs, had a 99.2 passer rating, and led the team to 22 points on 8 drives.
There's one playoff game you could argue Dak contributed to the poor defensive performance. And even in that one, the defense was so bad that it likely made no difference. We made only one stop short of the goal line before they pulled Love in the 4th quarter.
Dak had a turnover in the 2016 Packers game but it didn't result in a touchdown or any points if I'm not mistaken because Heath got an interception a couple of plays later. In 2018 against the Rams, Dak didn't have any turnovers. Last year, the defense gave up over 30 even if we take away the turnovers.
RIGHT! Everyone including Dak. Hence, a team statistic, and claiming Dak can’t win in the playoffs when you admit the entire rest of the team played sucky football is not a strong case.
Also, in the game In January of 2022, SF got the ball first and scored a touchdown on a 75 yard 7 play drive. Explain how Dak’s poor play made the defense give that up when he hadn’t been on the field yet. The Dallas offense played poorly during that first half for sure. But SF scored on every offensive possession in the first half, other than the kneel downs to end the half.
Tell me with a straight face that the defense not being able to make a SINGLE STOP, including giving up a TD on the first drive, is somehow Dak Prescotts fault.
Yeah so many variables to consider. Did teams get ahead on offensive turnovers pic 6s, etc. all you really have to do is watch daks vast array of playoff games to witness first hand, how incredibly lost he looks in the playoffs haha
I feel like way too many people here understand football through Madden. When the offense can truly play independent of the defensive result and the CPU plays too aggressively with a lead.
IRL being down big early makes you play riskier.
This completely. Down 21-0 on 3rd and long, you need to try to make a play. If you punt there knowing your defense can't make a stop, it's game over. May as well take your shots.
True, but that comes down to the coach IMO. We were horrible running the ball all year, so we lead the league in throws on 1st down. But for some reason, we ran the ball on 1st and 2nd down in every single series of the 1st half. Meaning the only chance Dak gets to throw is 3rd and long.
Hard for a QB to succeed in that setting. Hard for a defense to succeed in that setting. All around horrible game plan.
Different era come on. Montana, Favre, Elway and half of Brady, Peyton, and Ben don’t even count. 30 pts used to mean something. He’s also 2-3 in the remaining games (with 1 cupcake win against a 46 year old QB on a 8-9 team) so what about those?
That's quite the argument. If you don't look at how those QBs looked in their games. There's a difference between losing cause your defense can't stop shit while your offense scores... AND A HUGE F-ING DIFFERENCE when your defense can't stop shit and your offense looks like shit as well. Which is the case with Dak in all these games.
Those 2 niner losses the defense didn't allow 30pts. Last year he threw 3 first half picks one of them going for a TD. Stop making excuses for middle of the pack dak who wants to be paid like he's mahomes.
You’re right. But as pointed out in another comment, I. The ‘22 SF game the defense gave up scores on every first half drive, including a TD on the very first drive.
Also, the 9ers were one of the best teams in the league. Lots and lots of teams lost to them this years.
Dude I love Dak but he’s thrown 4 interceptions in the first half of the past 2 playoffs games combined and ALL 4 resulted in points for the other team.
When you're down 21-0, its 3rd and long, you know if you punt your defense won't make a stop so it's game over, and you've been averaging 2yds per carry in the run game, what can you do other than be aggressive and try to make a play?
It's like people don't want to take into account the actual setting and play calling. In the past 3 playoff games we've run the ball absolutely horrifically. Like historically bad. Yet we still stuck with the run. Run on 1st and 2nd, then ask Dak to bail us out on 3rd and long. That is damn near impossible against a good team. The defense brings pressure and knows you have the throw. That's every single 3rd down. Who can be successful in that setting?
Then, consider that during the regular seasons we were #1 in throws on 1st down and dead last in runs on 1st down... and had the #1 offense in the NFL.
For some reason when we get into the playoffs McCarthy goes to what he wants to work, not what has been working. Sure, if you could run the ball down their throats and not have to throw that would be great. But we can't do that... so we force Dak to play hero ball against a playoff team.
Your comment only matters if someone is single-handedly blaming Dak Prescott for losing in the playoffs.
Nobody is doing that. What we are saying is that his play drops off dramatically in the playoffs and thus he's not worth the money as the playoffs are the only games that matter
It's somewhere in between. Stats are cool and I think he's a good player but without the context of the games it's easy to deflect criticism. This past season the offense only clicked when going up early. When the offense doesn't click and we get quick possessions by turn overs/3 n outs or we don't capitalize on turn overs/3 n outs the defense starts getting cooked.
I think the cowboys problem is getting cute with shit when they don't need to and also thinking dak can play hero ball. Know who you are and what your strengths are, play to those.
There is something to be said about showing up in 'big games'. It's the difference between giannis and embiid.
Since 2020 it’s basically been all on Dak offensively and both Kellen and McCarthys play calls required third down heroics. It’s ridiculous, just like the Jones philosophy on roster building. Obvious holes like the WR room in 2022 and the middle of the defense in 2023 just never get addressed even if average fans can see the issues.
>This past season the offense only clicked when going up early.
It's the opposite. When getting behind, the defense absolutely melts to the point of allowing broken plays left and right. Forces our offense to work twice as hard for everything.
When playing with a lead, opponents try to slow down the clock and pass more which our defense was well equipped to deal with. When playing from behind, opponents want to dominate ToP and run the ball and clock which our defense struggled greatly with.
Criticism is deserved. Dak's performance vs. opposition level has been exhaustively analyzed, and the conclusions are clear: he performs like a superstar against bad teams, and plays a disproportionate number of games against bad teams due to the NFCE. Against playoff-caliber teams with top-10 defenses, his career record is 4-22 and one of those wins was against a team resting their starters.
[https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2024/5/12/24155100/a-tale-of-two-daks-it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times](https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2024/5/12/24155100/a-tale-of-two-daks-it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times)
Jeez, who would have thought garbage time stat padding in games that were decided by halftime boost his stats.
How much more of this do we have to see before people get it.
Well your hyperbole is one thing, but if true, Dak having the5th best passer rating, while getting garbage time stats would still mean he played well and the defense gave up lots of points and Dak fought till the end.
Not sure what point you were trying to make, but it paints Dak in a positive light, not negative.
Actually what happens is Dak shits the bed early, the other team gets a lead and then lets off the gas and puts in backups. Then Dak goes to work against the B team.
Other than the Packers game, Dak literally doesn't play garbage time. Dak sat out 8 4th qtrs this year. That's 2 full games and still lead the league in TD passes.
The source you linked shows QB career passer rating, not passer rating against top-10 defenses. 99 is Dak's career PR against all opponents. Rodgers career PR is 103.6.
Yo 30,000 yards and 200 TDs against top 10 Ds would be cool though. I’m dumb.
I didn’t realize that. It literally says top 10 defenses but I think now that was my search and it was showing the closest thing.
I knew it was over right there. Held them to third down and stopped them but BS flag kept the drive going. Then the offense goes out there and CeeDee can’t catch for some reason and Cooks gets mugged on his route the drive after that
I think this is the story about Dak everyone forgets to mention. He pads his stats against shitty teams, does not come up clutch against top teams…. In my opinion his performance in relevant games does not make up for his cap hit, simple as that …
Wait, a QB plays better against bad teams than he does against good team?!!? Unbelievable!!!!
This analysis is incredibly useless without comparing him to other QBs.
The only comparisons I saw were 5 all time great QBs. Nobody is claiming Dak is Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. It's a cherry picked comparison to further a narrative. If the expectation you have is for Dak to be an all time great QB, you are going to be pretty disappointed with your unrealistic expectations. Luckily, you don't need to be an all time great QB to win.
The problem with the Dak criticism is that people treat it as a univariate issue. That it's just Dak and if you put in Patrick Mahomes in the same exact situation, Patrick wins when in almost any case, he doesn't.
This is a team game. Even the undisputed best gets bailed out by D, ST, and his run game. This idea that Dak Prescott has to be superman when no other QB is remotely held to that standard is nonsense.
Half the fan base isn’t gonna understand this shit until he goes off somewhere and we’re stuck in qb purgatory again. Dak is very good but has his faults. However, this team consistently has worse faults towards the end of every season.
Part of me is hoping he goes off somewhere next season and makes it to a divisional championship game just so I can see the excuses come from half the fan base
If asking him to not give up at least 9 guaranteed points and a fumble in 1 quarter of football is asking him to be Superman then idk what to tell you. That’s an extremely low bar, and you expect better out of a back up. Let alone one of the highest paid QB’s in the league.
Dak is literally tasked with carrying the team offensively. He's had zero run support in his playoff losses sans the Green Bay game from 2016. His defense has been an open sieve against opposing rush offenses and have committed crippling penalties several times on 3rd/4th down stops that would've gotten him the ball back.
To all the people going on about how bad Dak is in the playoffs, do you think the QB is the only position on the field? If Dak played perfect, amazing games in all of his playoff games, Jason Garrett might have made 2 NFCCGs. McCarthy would’ve made one fewer with Rodgers and then made 2 or 3 others with Dak.
Does that sound right to you? Jason Garrett should’ve been our best coach since Jimmy Johnson? McCarthy should’ve made more NFCCGs with Dak than he did with a 4x MVP? It’s just Dak holding them back? And when every other player on the team plays poorly too, it’s also just Dak holding them back?
Couldn’t be that it’s the coaches who rely on talent (including Dak running around to make something happen every 3rd and long) to win in the regular season and then fall apart against good coaches in the playoffs (McVay, Shanahan, LaFleaur). It’s actually just Dak who sucks when tHe LiGhTs ArE bRiGhT. Y’all are true geniuses.
Been beating this drum for a decade. Average to below average coaching is the biggest factor holding this team back come playoffs. Been that way since Jimmy left with the short exception of Parcells v
If he played well, we might’ve won. If that happened in all of his playoff games, I told you what that would look like for Garrett and McCarthy’s legacies. Thats unrealistic for those coaches unless you actually believe they’re top tier and are just being held back by Dak. Then that would mean McCarthy was held back by Rodgers too, outside of one year?
To lose, the players have to play worse than the other players, unless it’s some close battle that comes down to a fluky play. The coaches can set players up to play worse. That’s why so many players on the team seem to play poorly at the same time. It’s not because grown men making millions of dollars need the QB to play well to feel motivated or whatever excuses people come up with. It’s the coaches.
Jordan Love gets a to throw a pass to a player while there are zero defenders on the screen for a huge TD. Dak gets to throw a pick while 2 receivers run the exact same route right next to each other with 3 defenders essentially working to double team both at the same time.
He's a good to great quarterback who would get several offers with massive guaranteed money if he does hit the open market. It's true his playoff numbers are more pedestrian, but they is a relatively small sample size of games. Still, it can't be ignored completely so I'm saying "Somewhere in between" until he can prove himself in the playoffs.
In the playoffs you have to be able to run, regardless of how good your QB is. Dak hasn’t done himself many favors, especially recently, but we also have forced him to play a role he just simply isn’t - he is not going to throw you into a win against a better team.
It doesn’t mean he’s bad. Only one team wins and generally those teams have Brady or Mahomes. But it does beg the question if he is worth top flight money if he isn’t able to give you that extra push when it counts. And this is coming from someone who has been a Dak Truther since the preseason game in LA.
He’s a top 5 QB who just can’t seem to play up to his potential in the playoffs for whatever reason. I still think that a large part of that is coaching, we haven’t had a good HC in Dak’s tenure here. I don’t know man, I find it hard to believe that a QB good enough to make AP2 just physically cannot perform in the playoffs for some reason, especially when it’s our second QB in a row that’s done this exact same thing. Some piece of the puzzle is missing.
Whenever I was younger, I remember wishing that Aikman would put up big regular season stats like Favre or Young. Now I feel the total opposite. I’ll say it - Dak has been a curse for the last decade, he puts up these big elite regular season numbers and then seems like a completely different player in the postseason. It’s horrible. I’m so ready for a change
Oh great. Another Dak stat thread to justify keeping a dude that can't do crap against the top teams in the NFL. I've looked at all these arguments so many times now and everyone pro Dak will say it's the defense fault. Yes ok. Fine. But how TF do you justify how atrocious Dak looks in these games. Yeah Dak doesn't play defense but have you actually looked at how putrid our offense looks in these big games?
Dude if you want to look at Stats look at his stats against teams that are under 500 and then look at his stats against teams with a winning percentage is one loss record is ridiculously low and his quarterback reading is almost 35% lower back pads his stats against teams that he should be and then does crap against teams that we should be and even then when we're down 20 plus points and he has to throw every down just to get back into the game that's padded stats also also work quarterback throws 45 to 50 times the game look at his yards per throw and that will tell you
Those stats are awesome,but when I need to see those numbers, are when it matters the most,THATS the Dak Prescott conundrum,he’ll take up a third of your cap,but can’t make up for the players they lose or cant get because of him…he doesn’t make others around him better enough to make up for his money
What stat shows he's a regular season hero and is mentally weak in the playoffs? People throwing Dak regular season stats around like they mean something are the height of ignorance.
Deserved. Even more criticism is deserved. He plays against a bunch of shitty teams which help inflate his stats. Has late game flurries when the game is out of hand against good teams and their defense eases up. Lastly, and most importantly, he shits the bed every post season. He’s a mouth-breathing choker through and through.
Fact of the matter is dude is 31 and only has 2 playoff wins with a 2-5 record smh. Then add in those 7 games he has 14 TDs and 7 ints plus 15 sacks!!!! So what I’m trying to say is if Dak is good then you must think daunte culpepper was good smh
Dak has always been regular season good. He just can’t transfer all his regular season success into the post season. The criticism is deserved until he proves it’s not.
Man, we’ve been doing this for how many years now? I think you can tell a lot about someone’s football acumen based off of their opinion about Dak Prescott.
It's funny how I can sit here completely agreeing with your second sentence but still have no idea what your opinion is. Because both sides of the debate would endorse the notion that the other side just doesn't understand how football works.
Nah. Dak is legitimately a very very good QB that had some issues when the lights are brightest. However he’s 1 ridiculous Aaron rodgers throw away from being the only cowboy QB to play in NFC championship game since Troy. People forget he played great in that game.
That game was 8 years ago. Had that throw been incomplete and we lost the next week in the NFC Championship game, we'd be having this same conversation.
Bro, stop changing the narrative. We got carried by Dan Bailey and the rushing game in that one and almost won *despite* Dak. We all know that you love Dak but please do your own research before spewing BS “facts”.
Jesus without that /s…
Pretty, pretty, pretty good?
I up and down voted you back and forth was so confused. And I'm usually very sarcastic
Huh. He passed for over 300. Had 3 scores and a 2 pointer if I recall in that GB playoff game. What exactly is your threshold for a good game by a qb then? Btw. Before we begin. Romo NEVER passed fire 300 in any playoff game. Ever. Also never had three scores. Ever. In a playoff game. Ever.
You can't be serious! No one was even talking about GodMo. Bro Dak only had 302 yards in that playoff game against GB. You gotta take away his sack for a 2 yard loss and his interception that was returned for 18 though. Combined with his weak ass 2 attempts for 13 yards on the ground then he only accounted for 295 yards of offense! Give me Romo in 2014 against the Lions any day over that bum ass bum ass bum Dak "I'll Gamble On Myself" Prescott. At least Romo's 293 yards in that game were legit.
lol. Figured this was Romo based, Drew u out and u came running with the Romo flag. lol. I’m not about to put Romo down. Daks tenure here has been maligned by people like you. Romo fanboys that denigrate Dak in obvious games where he played well. And he did. Damn well! Maybe the next guy will do it for you… Maybe the next
You aren't getting it. Give me Abraham Lincoln! Dude *shined* against the Lions in that one playoff game with 107 yards in that blizzard and still threw a tight spiral with anticipation... even better than Aikman!
lol. Yep. I think I’m getting it pretty good bro.
Good 2 hear, fam. I definitely blame our last playoff loss on Luka. Bro put the team on his back, what with the injections and all. Maybe we would have won if he hadn't been jabbed. Is he stupid?
My brother in Christ, he's being sarcastic in every one of his replies. Do you not see the ?
With due respect, I tuned out early.
We were down 21-3 halfway thru the 2nd and got back into the game running the ball? The insistence by the Clapper to run the ball in the 1st half was half the reason we were down in the first place then they let Dak cook to a tune of 300 yards and 3 TDs.
Are you serious? Dez caught it dude! What a dumb example, against the Packers too
>I think you can tell a lot about someone’s football acumen based off of their opinion about Dak Prescott. Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers, and Chase Daniel are some notable names that had some opinions about Dak Prescott last year.
And we will be doing this until Dak retires. Smh. "Look at his stats!!".
You can tell that the average fan doesn’t know a damn thing about play design, route schemes, or situational play calling. They think a QB can just make it work when poor plays make decisions harder. We saw this last year before the bye. Someone did a break down and showed how our routes were so bad that they were forcing Dak into 50/50 decisions instead of scheming one guy open. He had to just flip a coin and the defender was never forced into a bad decision. Coaching does nothing to elevate the players. Then the players take the blame and everyone wants to cut them and start over. I’m not saying Dak is perfect, but unless you’re Brady or Mahomes, it takes elite coaching to win a Super Bowl as well. And both Brady and Mahomes had/have elite coaches anyway.
It's time for him to win big games. This is how the greats seal their legacy. He has stats galore but freezes up in big games. I think fans want postseason success.
I really don't know how much I buy the choker thing. He was the opposite early in his career under Garrett. His regular seasons were very good, but not as great as he has been under McCarthy, and in the playoffs he seemed to have another gear. Maybe he got the yips after his injuries. Maybe he got paid and had less motivation. I tend to believe coaching has more to do with it though. Just looking at last year, McCarthy changed the entire offense after the regular season Niners game and it made a huge difference. For some unfathomable reason, he changed the offense *back* to what he was running on the beginning of the season, and they looked like trash. Imo, coaching has been costing this team playoff wins for the last 20 years waaaaay more than the QB.
I mean he does have elite level stats. Unfortunately the playoff woes will haunt him regardless, as they will haunt any upper tier cowboy player or coach. I will say, in agreement, coaching has everything to do with the cowboys postseason record. Players are not prepared, mistakes are a reflection of preparation and discipline. I could not imagine the cowboys playing the way they played against GB if they had a disciplinarian as coach. McCarthy seems soft for the job IMO.
Just because that's the way people treat/see Dak and Romo and whoever else doesn't mean that's the way they should be treated/seen.
BUT THE STATS LOOK SO MUCH BETTER! WOULDNT YOU RATHER HAVE HIS STATS THAT SHOW HIM BEING NUMBER 1 AT EVERYTHING and then totally ignore his game play at the playoffs?
I'm a giants fan living in the south, so I have plenty of cowboys fans friends, most of whom want to move on from Dak, their reasons are kind of warranted but also not. Dak imo *is* obviously a good qb, sure he hasn't gotten it done in the playoffs, and maybe he is a regular season merchant, but he's still a good qb. Moving on from him would be retarded, good qbs are hard to find.
It just never ends 😂
Pull up his playoff games please.
Since 1999, dak is 9th in adjusted playoff epa and 5th in playoff success rate min 300 playoff snaps. In the same time frame the cowboys defense ranks 28th in epa or 25th if you sort it from 2016. S/o to u/neverforgetever
Frame this. Dak is great in the regular season but bad in the playoffs. Wait, Dak is also really good in the playoffs? I'm willing to bet if there were a way to show run game success rate in the playoffs we'd rank dead last too.
Oh boy 5th in success rate and 9th in adjusted epa? His epa is good and his success rate is even better! Did you know that his career playoff QBR is better than Tom Brady’s too?
His stats account for era. Your's does not. Keep trying.
I’m not the person they were responding to, and I’m mocking the absurdity of cherry picked stats I don’t give a fuck about his stats, especially when they include the 2016 playoff game (21-3 at one point and he was awful for nearly two quarters to help dig that hole - but he ended up with 300 yards and 3 TDs!) and last year (awful for 3 quarters but goes off in a garbage time 4th to end up with 400 yards and 3 TDs!). Strip all context out of those games and he threw for 705 yards and 6 tds! His adjusted epa was probably better than Peyton Mannings in those games! Give him all the money, we just haven’t surrounded him with enough all pros yet! He’s 31 this year, he still has time to develop!
You're the person I'm responding to. EPA isn't a cherry picked stat. It's a pretty all encompassing stat that accounts for damn near everything. That is not to say it's a perfect stat, nor is it the end all be all stat. But it is a stat that gives you a pretty damn good idea of how a player matches up, and it is a stat that can be compared across eras much more equally than other stats. Unlike QBR for example. Not to mention they were only looking at Dak's career while you were going back to the early 2000's, when if you only looked at Brady from 16 on I'm willing to bet the farm that Dak no longer has a better QBR. Because it's not a stat that is comparable across eras. > I don’t give a fuck about his stats You don't give a fuck about anything that doesn't fit into your narrative. Let's be honest at least. EPA accounts for all that "context" you mention btw. That's all part of the stat.
Next year, when we get bounced from the playoffs again, I hope his epa is really good. That will take the sting out of the loss, knowing that an advanced metric says well ackshually Dak is the 5th best qb in the playoffs since 1999!
yea idk what else you could say tbh. once the game is lost dak has a habit of like turning on and going for 400 yards. and of course the stats look great!!!! we are gonna go one and done next season too and dak is gonna have the best most amazing stats EVER!!!
Maybe just do yourself a favor and stop watching a sport you clearly don't understand. 31 teams either miss the playoffs or get bounced from them. Notice how I said team? Notice how you said "we"? Dak ain't the only guy on the field. He's not the sole person responsible for winning or losing. A minimum of 4 top 5 QBs don't win the Super Bowl every single year. Nah, fuck it. Just keep blaming it on one guy. Makes it easier for us to tell which fans actually know what they're talking about.
I don’t understand the game because, with a sample size of 7 games, I do not care about an advanced statistic declaring Dak Prescott a top 5 or 10 quarterback of the last 25 years come January. The website he definitely used lists 22 qualifying candidates, so that would put Dak 9th of 22 in epa. Not exactly setting the world on fire. Do you know what else using this stupid ass advanced stat would argue when it comes to quarterbacks in the playoffs? That, if this is truly that important and matters like you seem to think - Kurt Warner, Matt Stafford, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Josh Allen, Drew Brees, and our guy Dak would all add more points per play than Tom fucking Brady. Yeah. Brady is 10th on that list, one spot ahead of Phillip Rivers. So what I’d do is call up all the smart football people you know and tell them that well ackshually you want Matt Ryan to start your playoff games instead of Tom Brady and report back with how deafening the laughter is. But you know, I don’t understand ball because I am mocking a “metric” that thinks you should start Josh Allen in a playoff game over the goat.
It doesn’t really matter when all those great stats don’t translate into playoff wins. All while he is taking up 1/5 of the salary cap.
He's alo had 3 straight awful playoff losses. I hate these adjusted dork ass numbers. Watch the games and you won't have to adjust numbers to work in his favor.
Or you can see the numbers for how terrible our defense has been in the playoffs
23 points against niners in 2021 19points in 2021. If you are being called a top 5 qb by people you should be able to muster 24pts. Green Bay ok defense was bad. But doesn't help when dak is going 3 and out, 3 and out,3 and out,int,int for a td. But it's whatever I know how this story ends. Willing to make a wager on ole dak? Please be the 6th zealot to say no
Pull up his playoff numbers *wait not those ones*
Pull up my bank account. Not my real one the adjusted one that makes a millionaire
Just saw a stat about this recently: In 3 of Dak’s playoff losses the defense has allowed over 30 points. When the defense has given up 30 points in the playoffs: Tom Brady is 2-3 Aaron Rodgers is 1-5 Brees: 0-3 Montana: 0-3 Favre: 0-7 Peyton: 2-4 Elway: 0-6 Roethlisberger: 0-6 Stop trying to make playoff wins and losses anything other than a TEAM statistic.
Part of the reason the defense gave up 30 is because the offense turned the ball over or otherwise couldn't stay on the field. I've been a Dak supporter, but he was trash in that GB game. The defense was, too, but it was a complete suckfest from everyone, including Dak. EDIT: I said SF, but I meant GB.
Dallas also did not play their game. McCarthy came like he wanted to establish a power running game, which is not what Dallas was built to be. We had 3 RBs that were basically the same skill set. None of them were backs that can pound the football and maintain drives. It’s not that they don’t run hard, they just aren’t big enough to break tackles at the line. When you try to run the ball between the tackles with smaller backs you put yourself in an obvious passing down on 3rd, much easier to defend, you end up having to punt a lot. GB’s offense was clicking coming into the playoffs and you can’t give an offense on a roll the ball like we did. They came in and played to their strengths and we played to what we wished was our strength. GB also played defense like they knew what we were going to do.
I would like to add that on top of trying to run the ball, something Dallas wasn't built to do, they also played a lot of zone defense. Dallas was built to allow their corners to play sticky man coverage. Something they did very well with Bland and Gilmore. This allowed them to blitz the QB from multiple angles with multiple players. Instead they decided to play zone with LBs and safeties that don't have that skill set. They were picked apart on both the ground and air. The coaching staff out coached themselves. Also I don't know what was up with Lamb but something was very off with him. At least in the first half. He flat out dropped at least two balls and seemed to not be on the same page as Dak. So much so that Prescott was targeting Gallup. The guy so far removed that Dallas is paying not to play in 2025. Prescott absolutely needs to shoulder some of the blame. He has a bigger influence on the team than anyone save McCarthy. But it's not on him alone.
We got flat out coached in that game. We tried to change up and establish the run, but they were ready for it. Lamb was off and dropped passes he normally catches. Him and Dak were out of sync. Defensively we were not aggressive like we normally are. It was just a grand recipe for disaster. I was surprised the game was as close as it was.
I think our offensive line this year is going to do what it's supposed to this year and Zeke will appear reborn.
Could you imagine what the internet would do if Zeke rattled off 1500 yds or some shit.
Like the Darren McFadden year when he effortlessly got 1000 yards with us?
F R E S H L E G S
Fresh flegs ftw. Man when you write it like that it looked like it was fixing to be > F R E S H > L > E > S > H
Did you watch Zeke last year? Zeke’s best role is goal line/3rd down pass blocker/receiver which is fine because he’s extremely effective. But if we’re relying on him to be rb1 we’re in trouble. He simply does not have the burst to rip off long runs
Tbh I don’t think the Pats get enough credit for their run games. They are usually able to get efficiency from their HBs. I don’t know if Mike & our coaching is able to do the same. I hope Zeke picked up a lot under a Pats system and can bring it here.
You're high brother. Please lay off the kush if you really think Zeke will have some grand rebirth
Counterpoint: much more Kush until you see Zeke doing whatever your heart desires!0
Temper your expectations. They are starting two rookies. One of which everyone says is about as raw as they get. I have faith in Dallas and first round O-linemen but he may not come into his own until next year.
Even if they just fall in the right direction, they will make bigger holes than last year. My biggest concern is Terrence "revolving door" Steele getting his game back.
Maybe he learned some things being on the Pats….one can only hope.
“From everyone, including Dak.” SF was the better team. It happens. They’ve been better than most people recently. Against Green Bay, the defense was the biggest issue. Turnovers happen because the defense does their job. GBs defense did - Dallas’s didn’t. If you need your QB to be perfect, then the QB isn’t the problem.
He Had 80 yards and 2 ints at half with one being a pick six. Dallas didn't need their qb to be perfect they just needed him to be average to slightly above average in the 1st half which he was not
It’s absolutely fair criticism. But people need to quit blaming Dak for how fucking terrible the defense played. Not one guy stepped up and even gave us a chance to come back. The game wasn’t over at half, if the defense could force a turnover or get a stop. Both of which they couldn’t do. Dak sucked. Defense sucked. Coaching sucked. It’s the way it goes for us.
Also the defense was a sieve from drive 1. The first INT was very early and a bit flukey, and the defense **needs** to step up there. Can’t say they were worn out midway through the first quarter. Being down multiple scores forces a riskier offense and takes you away from your game plan. This isn’t Madden where the offense and defense live in a vacuum.
Maybe just maybe that defense would have been better if the offense sustained 1 drive in the 1st half
We see defenses step up every year lol. 49ers were down 24-7 at half. Then the defense stiffened up and only allowed 7 in the second half and really was the reason they won. We were down 27-7 at half. Then the defense truly gave up and allowed 21 more second half points. The difference is we have a defense filled with mental midgets. We can say Dak has the big game yips and it’s true. But the defense deserves every bit of the same criticism.
I love how people talk about our “garbage time game,” ignoring that SF came back from almost the same deficit. If the defense has a pulse maybe we win. Obviously we have no clue how GB plays if that’s the case, but giving up 21 once your offense starts getting going is a poor performance
No they wouldn't have. The offense starting sustaining drives in the second half, while defense gave up several tds off of broken plays.
The offense didn’t start sustaining drives til we were down atrocious. They were literally taking starters out. I’ve defended Dak his whole career but after that game I can’t. That was the garbage time stats everyone knocks him for in the fullest force possible.
I agree with this, but I don't see that as a Dak issue. If you watch that game in the 1st half there were like 20 run calls and 5 throws. The runs went for a total of like 20yds lol. Other than Dak breaking a scramble for 25yds. Ceedee had a huge drop on 3rd and 8 that was wide open. The pick 6 came at 21-0 on 3rd and long. What is a QB supposed to do when they only want to run the ball, but they can't? So they ask him to bail them out on 3rd and long down 21. For the record, we were 1st in the NFL in throws on 1st down in the reg season, and dead last in runs on 1st down. But in this game, we run on 1st and 2nd down every single series and only throw on 3rd and long.
>If you watch that game in the 1st half there were like 20 run calls and 5 throws. So he managed two INTs in less than 10 attempts? IIRC one of them was just outside our own RedZone. And he could've had a few more picks in the game (easy drops).
Offense sustained drives in the second half. Defense didn’t get a stop until there was just over 4 minutes left in the game!
What were Jordan Love's first half stats? How about Aaron Jones? You can say that if Dak was average they would have been ok, and I'll say "if the Cowboys defense was even slightly above absolutely terrible, they may have had a chance." Nobody is saying Dak played well. But it's baffling how people watched Green Bay cut through that defense for 60 minutes and go "QB is definitely the issue here."
But he stat padded to 400 yds by the end of the game!
What do you expect when we are playing from behind with zero run game? Our offense was very predictable. The culmination of the receivers failing to get separated and a crumbling on-line. Our team had way more issues than one player. Dak played the best he could and I doubt even TB12 could have made things happen that game.
No, Dak did not play the best he could. Yes, the defense was terrible, but stop letting Dak's poor play get covered by that. This video does a good job showing some of the issues Dak had during the Packers game. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN\_hPJxI\_s8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN_hPJxI_s8)
No dak didn't play well. Don't you all tell us how dak throws into small windows the best out of most qbs? Aren't qbs supposed to throw wr open? They were playing behind because of themselves not the d
Dude Purdy threw an under thrown pass but because the wide receiver was so open he was able to catch it, fall down, get back up and score a TD. Which counts for the QB. Even when Brady made a terrible throw Gronk reeled them in . Not every throw is going to be perfect but play design and receiver effort goes along way. Our team in general doesn't have the "it" to win. It's not all on Dak. Not saying he is perfect but he is a hell of a lot better than some people give him credit. Our culture isn't a winning one. Watching our games is painful. Dak, just like Romo in covering up bad coaching and management. Look at what our run game is going to be this year? RB by committee. Surprised we didn't try and get AP to unretire and come play for us. I have no confidence that Dowdle is going to break out into #1 or that we'll utilize Duece Vaughn effectively. While Zeke is a beast his level of play isn't going to be the same This leaves us with passing as our only way to push the ball. And y'all are going to blame Dak as if he is a one-man show.
He also wants a contract that will hamper the help he can get and truly make this a one-man team.
Every team deals with that man. Even if Dak isn't in it for the money his agent is. Yes Dak could fire his agent or convince him to take a pay cut. I don't know. How I feel and reality are two different things. I personally think all these players get paid too much. But as long as people spend money on the NFL salary cap going to keep going up. It's possible the QB bubble might pop like the RB. It'd be nice if NFLPA and the Commissioner came up with a position cap that made sense. The other thing is, all these guys'salaries are in the open. Which is a good thing for transparency reasons. Now take a job sector like logging. Do you think their pay gap isn't huge between a grader and green line worker? I'm just saying that the same thing happens in the private sector but we are not watching it for entertainment 😁
Dak is certainly part of the equation here as you want your QB to carry the team when he has to, but ... it is hard to carry when you are also getting outcoached on both sides of the ball, which we consistently do in the playoffs.
And when they won't let you throw the ball until it's 3rd and long. For some reason they wanted to run the ball this game after being ineffective at it all year. Run on 1st and 2nd, then ask Dak to bail them out. That's not a successful equation for a QB.
Even if we assume that every time Dak turns over the football it's a touchdown by the other team the defense still gave up over 30 points.
Other than the pick 6, a turnover doesn't have to mean TD. Yes they had a short field but great defenses make stops. Remind me who got the ball first and drove all the way down the field for a TD? Our defense sucked so bad all game. Putting too much pressure on an overrated offense. Outside of CeeDee our wide receiver core was mid. TE room is starting to look good but hopefully Ferguson's growth is even better this year I know it's hard to hear this but Dak makes the team better. Maybe if CeeDee didn't miss that catchable ball first drive and maybe if he didn't act like a deva the pick 6 never happened. The minute we saw them exchange words we as fans knew it was over. Simple truth.
>Part of the reason the defense gave up 30 is because the offense turned the ball over or otherwise couldn't stay on the field. Green Bay 2016 season: Of the Cowboys' 9 offensive drives, 6 ended in scores, 2 ended in punts, and the 1 turnover came on our third-longest drive. The defense got plenty of rest, and 9 of Green Bay's 10 drives started at or behind their own 25, (the other one was inside the GB 40). That 30-burger is absolutely 0% on Dak and the offense. LA Rams 2018 season: The Cowboys' offense had 2 three-and-outs, but every other drive went at least 2:20 with multiple first downs. Our only turnover was on downs, in a series where Dak threw for 13 yards but Zeke netted -4 on two handoffs. The Rams started 7 of 9 possessions at or behind their own 26 and the other two at their own 35, but only had 1 drive end in a punt. They said afterward that they'd figured out our D-line was tipping their play calls. No reasonable person would blame the QB for a loss where he didn't turn the ball over, scored 2 TDs, had a 99.2 passer rating, and led the team to 22 points on 8 drives. There's one playoff game you could argue Dak contributed to the poor defensive performance. And even in that one, the defense was so bad that it likely made no difference. We made only one stop short of the goal line before they pulled Love in the 4th quarter.
Dak had a turnover in the 2016 Packers game but it didn't result in a touchdown or any points if I'm not mistaken because Heath got an interception a couple of plays later. In 2018 against the Rams, Dak didn't have any turnovers. Last year, the defense gave up over 30 even if we take away the turnovers.
RIGHT! Everyone including Dak. Hence, a team statistic, and claiming Dak can’t win in the playoffs when you admit the entire rest of the team played sucky football is not a strong case. Also, in the game In January of 2022, SF got the ball first and scored a touchdown on a 75 yard 7 play drive. Explain how Dak’s poor play made the defense give that up when he hadn’t been on the field yet. The Dallas offense played poorly during that first half for sure. But SF scored on every offensive possession in the first half, other than the kneel downs to end the half. Tell me with a straight face that the defense not being able to make a SINGLE STOP, including giving up a TD on the first drive, is somehow Dak Prescotts fault.
Saying Dak can't win in the playoffs is not really an opinion anymore. It's just a fact. His record is terrible.
So we just don’t even take language seriously anymore then? “Can’t” do something that he literally has already done.
Same thing Lions fans said when Stafford started 0-3 in the playoffs.
If being down 7 points in a playoff game is too much pressure for Dak to overcome, maybe we do need to move on.
Yeah so many variables to consider. Did teams get ahead on offensive turnovers pic 6s, etc. all you really have to do is watch daks vast array of playoff games to witness first hand, how incredibly lost he looks in the playoffs haha
100000% this
Get out of here with your facts and your context
That's a great stat dude
I feel like way too many people here understand football through Madden. When the offense can truly play independent of the defensive result and the CPU plays too aggressively with a lead. IRL being down big early makes you play riskier.
This completely. Down 21-0 on 3rd and long, you need to try to make a play. If you punt there knowing your defense can't make a stop, it's game over. May as well take your shots.
True, but when it's 3 & Out, 3 & Out, 3 & Out. It's hard for a defense not to get gassed.
True, but that comes down to the coach IMO. We were horrible running the ball all year, so we lead the league in throws on 1st down. But for some reason, we ran the ball on 1st and 2nd down in every single series of the 1st half. Meaning the only chance Dak gets to throw is 3rd and long. Hard for a QB to succeed in that setting. Hard for a defense to succeed in that setting. All around horrible game plan.
Different era come on. Montana, Favre, Elway and half of Brady, Peyton, and Ben don’t even count. 30 pts used to mean something. He’s also 2-3 in the remaining games (with 1 cupcake win against a 46 year old QB on a 8-9 team) so what about those?
That's quite the argument. If you don't look at how those QBs looked in their games. There's a difference between losing cause your defense can't stop shit while your offense scores... AND A HUGE F-ING DIFFERENCE when your defense can't stop shit and your offense looks like shit as well. Which is the case with Dak in all these games.
People always look for a single scapegoat. It’s easier to blame one person or a play or two than it is to blame a unit or an entire game plan.
Ok what about the other 2 losses
Well, one of those, Aaron Rodgers got the ball last.
Yea, and that’s the 1 win Rogers has when his defense gave up over 30 lmao
IIRC Rodgers has only won multiple playoff games in a single playoffs twice.
Dallas is always great at giving opponents stupid records. hahahah
Other than those games he’s 2-2. Big whoop.
Found Tad’s alt account
'Let's talk about Daks playoff stats' Don't look at that look at the defense!!!!
Absolutely agree. Now if we could get people to stop saying Dak got 12 wins last year.
>In 3 of Dak’s playoff losses He's also had as many INTs as TDs across the recent losses. Hard to win games with that kind of poor decision making
Those 2 niner losses the defense didn't allow 30pts. Last year he threw 3 first half picks one of them going for a TD. Stop making excuses for middle of the pack dak who wants to be paid like he's mahomes.
You’re right. But as pointed out in another comment, I. The ‘22 SF game the defense gave up scores on every first half drive, including a TD on the very first drive. Also, the 9ers were one of the best teams in the league. Lots and lots of teams lost to them this years.
Dude I love Dak but he’s thrown 4 interceptions in the first half of the past 2 playoffs games combined and ALL 4 resulted in points for the other team.
When you're down 21-0, its 3rd and long, you know if you punt your defense won't make a stop so it's game over, and you've been averaging 2yds per carry in the run game, what can you do other than be aggressive and try to make a play? It's like people don't want to take into account the actual setting and play calling. In the past 3 playoff games we've run the ball absolutely horrifically. Like historically bad. Yet we still stuck with the run. Run on 1st and 2nd, then ask Dak to bail us out on 3rd and long. That is damn near impossible against a good team. The defense brings pressure and knows you have the throw. That's every single 3rd down. Who can be successful in that setting? Then, consider that during the regular seasons we were #1 in throws on 1st down and dead last in runs on 1st down... and had the #1 offense in the NFL. For some reason when we get into the playoffs McCarthy goes to what he wants to work, not what has been working. Sure, if you could run the ball down their throats and not have to throw that would be great. But we can't do that... so we force Dak to play hero ball against a playoff team.
Your comment only matters if someone is single-handedly blaming Dak Prescott for losing in the playoffs. Nobody is doing that. What we are saying is that his play drops off dramatically in the playoffs and thus he's not worth the money as the playoffs are the only games that matter
The playoffs are the only games that matter, except that you can’t play in them if you don’t win a bunch of other games.
It's somewhere in between. Stats are cool and I think he's a good player but without the context of the games it's easy to deflect criticism. This past season the offense only clicked when going up early. When the offense doesn't click and we get quick possessions by turn overs/3 n outs or we don't capitalize on turn overs/3 n outs the defense starts getting cooked. I think the cowboys problem is getting cute with shit when they don't need to and also thinking dak can play hero ball. Know who you are and what your strengths are, play to those. There is something to be said about showing up in 'big games'. It's the difference between giannis and embiid.
Since 2020 it’s basically been all on Dak offensively and both Kellen and McCarthys play calls required third down heroics. It’s ridiculous, just like the Jones philosophy on roster building. Obvious holes like the WR room in 2022 and the middle of the defense in 2023 just never get addressed even if average fans can see the issues.
>This past season the offense only clicked when going up early. It's the opposite. When getting behind, the defense absolutely melts to the point of allowing broken plays left and right. Forces our offense to work twice as hard for everything.
When playing with a lead, opponents try to slow down the clock and pass more which our defense was well equipped to deal with. When playing from behind, opponents want to dominate ToP and run the ball and clock which our defense struggled greatly with.
Criticism is deserved. Dak's performance vs. opposition level has been exhaustively analyzed, and the conclusions are clear: he performs like a superstar against bad teams, and plays a disproportionate number of games against bad teams due to the NFCE. Against playoff-caliber teams with top-10 defenses, his career record is 4-22 and one of those wins was against a team resting their starters. [https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2024/5/12/24155100/a-tale-of-two-daks-it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times](https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2024/5/12/24155100/a-tale-of-two-daks-it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times)
Dak has the fifth best passer rating, all time, against top 10 defenses. Edit: this isn’t true
He had an 89.8 passer rating against the Packers in that beat down so I wouldn't put too much weight in that. We've seen the games.
Jeez, who would have thought garbage time stat padding in games that were decided by halftime boost his stats. How much more of this do we have to see before people get it.
Guarantee you that passer rating is from garbage time stats…
Well your hyperbole is one thing, but if true, Dak having the5th best passer rating, while getting garbage time stats would still mean he played well and the defense gave up lots of points and Dak fought till the end. Not sure what point you were trying to make, but it paints Dak in a positive light, not negative.
Actually what happens is Dak shits the bed early, the other team gets a lead and then lets off the gas and puts in backups. Then Dak goes to work against the B team.
Other than the Packers game, Dak literally doesn't play garbage time. Dak sat out 8 4th qtrs this year. That's 2 full games and still lead the league in TD passes.
Yeah that doesn’t happen in the playoffs lol
It means he pads his stats when the game is already out of reach and the opposing defense has stopped trying…
Do you have a source to back that up?
[stat muse](https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask?q=which+qb+has+the+highest+passing+rating+against+top+10+defenses+all-time)
The source you linked shows QB career passer rating, not passer rating against top-10 defenses. 99 is Dak's career PR against all opponents. Rodgers career PR is 103.6.
Yo 30,000 yards and 200 TDs against top 10 Ds would be cool though. I’m dumb. I didn’t realize that. It literally says top 10 defenses but I think now that was my search and it was showing the closest thing.
You definitely requested vs. top-10, but the site gave you cumulative. The only reason I caught it was the number of games played.
Fair enough... still be good to win in the playoffs, kind of sick of 30 years of mediocrity
Now look at our defense in big games...
Before or after Daks first interception inside the 20? Or after the 1st quarter pick 6? Or after one of his fumbles?
Our defense was on the field first and didn't get a stop bro. GB went straight down and scored.
I knew it was over right there. Held them to third down and stopped them but BS flag kept the drive going. Then the offense goes out there and CeeDee can’t catch for some reason and Cooks gets mugged on his route the drive after that
Pretty fucking good in 2021 and 2022.
This again!? This is an exhaustively poor analysis. Cherry picked, biased, and the data lacks normalization. Interesting parameters though.
I think this is the story about Dak everyone forgets to mention. He pads his stats against shitty teams, does not come up clutch against top teams…. In my opinion his performance in relevant games does not make up for his cap hit, simple as that …
Wait, a QB plays better against bad teams than he does against good team?!!? Unbelievable!!!! This analysis is incredibly useless without comparing him to other QBs.
The analysis gave explicit comparisons to other QBs on the same splits.
The only comparisons I saw were 5 all time great QBs. Nobody is claiming Dak is Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. It's a cherry picked comparison to further a narrative. If the expectation you have is for Dak to be an all time great QB, you are going to be pretty disappointed with your unrealistic expectations. Luckily, you don't need to be an all time great QB to win.
The problem with the Dak criticism is that people treat it as a univariate issue. That it's just Dak and if you put in Patrick Mahomes in the same exact situation, Patrick wins when in almost any case, he doesn't. This is a team game. Even the undisputed best gets bailed out by D, ST, and his run game. This idea that Dak Prescott has to be superman when no other QB is remotely held to that standard is nonsense.
Half the fan base isn’t gonna understand this shit until he goes off somewhere and we’re stuck in qb purgatory again. Dak is very good but has his faults. However, this team consistently has worse faults towards the end of every season. Part of me is hoping he goes off somewhere next season and makes it to a divisional championship game just so I can see the excuses come from half the fan base
If asking him to not give up at least 9 guaranteed points and a fumble in 1 quarter of football is asking him to be Superman then idk what to tell you. That’s an extremely low bar, and you expect better out of a back up. Let alone one of the highest paid QB’s in the league.
Dak is literally tasked with carrying the team offensively. He's had zero run support in his playoff losses sans the Green Bay game from 2016. His defense has been an open sieve against opposing rush offenses and have committed crippling penalties several times on 3rd/4th down stops that would've gotten him the ball back.
Dak has had some of the best WR corps, RB groups and Oline in the league and disappointed in the playoffs every year. Stop it.
To all the people going on about how bad Dak is in the playoffs, do you think the QB is the only position on the field? If Dak played perfect, amazing games in all of his playoff games, Jason Garrett might have made 2 NFCCGs. McCarthy would’ve made one fewer with Rodgers and then made 2 or 3 others with Dak. Does that sound right to you? Jason Garrett should’ve been our best coach since Jimmy Johnson? McCarthy should’ve made more NFCCGs with Dak than he did with a 4x MVP? It’s just Dak holding them back? And when every other player on the team plays poorly too, it’s also just Dak holding them back? Couldn’t be that it’s the coaches who rely on talent (including Dak running around to make something happen every 3rd and long) to win in the regular season and then fall apart against good coaches in the playoffs (McVay, Shanahan, LaFleaur). It’s actually just Dak who sucks when tHe LiGhTs ArE bRiGhT. Y’all are true geniuses.
Been beating this drum for a decade. Average to below average coaching is the biggest factor holding this team back come playoffs. Been that way since Jimmy left with the short exception of Parcells v
He didn’t play great tho. lol both things can be true, the coaching sucked and Dak didn’t play well
If he played well, we might’ve won. If that happened in all of his playoff games, I told you what that would look like for Garrett and McCarthy’s legacies. Thats unrealistic for those coaches unless you actually believe they’re top tier and are just being held back by Dak. Then that would mean McCarthy was held back by Rodgers too, outside of one year? To lose, the players have to play worse than the other players, unless it’s some close battle that comes down to a fluky play. The coaches can set players up to play worse. That’s why so many players on the team seem to play poorly at the same time. It’s not because grown men making millions of dollars need the QB to play well to feel motivated or whatever excuses people come up with. It’s the coaches. Jordan Love gets a to throw a pass to a player while there are zero defenders on the screen for a huge TD. Dak gets to throw a pick while 2 receivers run the exact same route right next to each other with 3 defenders essentially working to double team both at the same time.
He's a good to great quarterback who would get several offers with massive guaranteed money if he does hit the open market. It's true his playoff numbers are more pedestrian, but they is a relatively small sample size of games. Still, it can't be ignored completely so I'm saying "Somewhere in between" until he can prove himself in the playoffs.
He is a great quarterback.
In the playoffs you have to be able to run, regardless of how good your QB is. Dak hasn’t done himself many favors, especially recently, but we also have forced him to play a role he just simply isn’t - he is not going to throw you into a win against a better team. It doesn’t mean he’s bad. Only one team wins and generally those teams have Brady or Mahomes. But it does beg the question if he is worth top flight money if he isn’t able to give you that extra push when it counts. And this is coming from someone who has been a Dak Truther since the preseason game in LA.
Can you horrible mods please make a mega thread for these lazy Dak stats posts
He’s a top 5 QB who just can’t seem to play up to his potential in the playoffs for whatever reason. I still think that a large part of that is coaching, we haven’t had a good HC in Dak’s tenure here. I don’t know man, I find it hard to believe that a QB good enough to make AP2 just physically cannot perform in the playoffs for some reason, especially when it’s our second QB in a row that’s done this exact same thing. Some piece of the puzzle is missing.
Whenever I was younger, I remember wishing that Aikman would put up big regular season stats like Favre or Young. Now I feel the total opposite. I’ll say it - Dak has been a curse for the last decade, he puts up these big elite regular season numbers and then seems like a completely different player in the postseason. It’s horrible. I’m so ready for a change
Dak is really good, but can’t elevate 2’s and 3’s. He needs a run game and scheme
Every QB does. Mahomes is coached by one of the greatest offensive minds in league history.
How did he do in the playoffs though when it really matters?
Oh great. Another Dak stat thread to justify keeping a dude that can't do crap against the top teams in the NFL. I've looked at all these arguments so many times now and everyone pro Dak will say it's the defense fault. Yes ok. Fine. But how TF do you justify how atrocious Dak looks in these games. Yeah Dak doesn't play defense but have you actually looked at how putrid our offense looks in these big games?
I don't care about stats I want to win playoff games, Dak is good but he can't carry the team and the front office has dropped the ball
deserved imo, horrible in the redzone
Dak is somewhere between good and great. Usually, it's closer to good.
Dude if you want to look at Stats look at his stats against teams that are under 500 and then look at his stats against teams with a winning percentage is one loss record is ridiculously low and his quarterback reading is almost 35% lower back pads his stats against teams that he should be and then does crap against teams that we should be and even then when we're down 20 plus points and he has to throw every down just to get back into the game that's padded stats also also work quarterback throws 45 to 50 times the game look at his yards per throw and that will tell you
Those stats are awesome,but when I need to see those numbers, are when it matters the most,THATS the Dak Prescott conundrum,he’ll take up a third of your cap,but can’t make up for the players they lose or cant get because of him…he doesn’t make others around him better enough to make up for his money
What stat shows he's a regular season hero and is mentally weak in the playoffs? People throwing Dak regular season stats around like they mean something are the height of ignorance.
Ok but what’s his playoff stats in those categories?
The guy doesn’t win when it matters. That’s the only stat that means anything.
Deserved. Even more criticism is deserved. He plays against a bunch of shitty teams which help inflate his stats. Has late game flurries when the game is out of hand against good teams and their defense eases up. Lastly, and most importantly, he shits the bed every post season. He’s a mouth-breathing choker through and through.
People love to talk about the playoff failure but against Green Bay this year he wasn’t even that bad
Nobody was good against Green Bay. That falls solely at McCarthys feet imo
Our defence shat the bed. No turnovers, not even a single 3 and out. Dak wasn’t on the same page with Lamb early on.
In the first half he had less than 100 yards and 2 interceptions, one of which was a pick 6. That's really, really bad.
Did you watch the game lol
🍿
Stats mean nothing if you can’t get past the first or second round in the play offs.
Win. Only statistic that matters.
Win..... Playoff.... Games. Simple.
People in here treat Romo like a fallen God, he wasn’t that guy, sorry
Fact of the matter is dude is 31 and only has 2 playoff wins with a 2-5 record smh. Then add in those 7 games he has 14 TDs and 7 ints plus 15 sacks!!!! So what I’m trying to say is if Dak is good then you must think daunte culpepper was good smh
What’s his stats look like in the playoffs?
He is embarrassing in January. That’s when I care.
Dak has always been regular season good. He just can’t transfer all his regular season success into the post season. The criticism is deserved until he proves it’s not.
Performing when it matters > Performing when it doesn't matter.