For the last couple of years, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been thought of as a player who is an above-average signal-caller but tends to underperform or even play poorly in big games.
He had gotten off to a fairly decent start this season while guiding the Cowboys to a 3-1 record, and he had a chance to prove his critics wrong when they took on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Instead, Prescott seemed to be waving a neon sign that said, “My critics are 100 percent right.” He completed just 14 of 24 passes and threw three interceptions as the Niners made a total mockery of Dallas with a 42-10 rout.
With a 3-2 record, the Cowboys’ swagger is all but gone, and so is the belief many outside the team and its fan base have in him. In fact, one NFL executive said Prescott’s poor showing in Santa Clara could have an effect on his future as far as a possible contract extension.
“Hard to pay Dak after tonight,” the exec surmised.
“Don’t think this game by itself impacts Dak too much, but it could start it down a path,” another said.
Next year will be the final season on Prescott’s current contract. According to spotrac.com, he could receive a deal worth at least $193 million over four years, which would be a hefty price to pay for a QB who cannot be trusted in big moments.
The 49ers just might be his big kryptonite. In last season’s divisional round of the playoffs, he went 23 of 37 and threw two interceptions in Dallas’ 19-12 loss to the Niners, and the year before that, he was 23 of 43 and got sacked five times when his team also lost to the Niners.
During the preseason, the Cowboys acquired 23-year-old quarterback Trey Lance, ironically in a trade with the 49ers. He was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft, and while he hasn’t played much in the NFL, he is thought to have plenty of potential if he gets enough actual game time soon enough.
There are whispers that perhaps in time, the Cowboys could decide to move on from Dak Prescott and give Lance a chance to be their man moving forward.
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