For the most part, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completely outplayed Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Prescott finished the game having completed 29-of-44 passes for 374 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
However, the narrative quickly switched from his sensational performance to the Cowboys self-destructing late in a 28-23 road loss to Philadelphia.
Dallas had first-and-goal from Philadelphia’s six-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. A Tyler Smith false start set them back another five yards before Prescott missed on a pass and then took a sack at the worst possible time.
Then, with five seconds remaining and the ball at Philadelphia’s 27-yard line, Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb short of the goal line. The end result was Dallas losing in heartbreaking fashion and falling 2.5 games behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
In talking about the game and the performance of his quarter, Cowboys star defender Micah Parsons threw his support behind Prescott in a big way.
“Dak is a freaking warrior. That’s Dak mo—f—ing Prescott, bro. He’s a dog. He’s a warrior. I have an unbelievable amount of confidence in him. I felt he had a great game. People need to put more respect on him. He outplayed everyone today,” Parsons on Dak Prescott.
Prescott did battle through a ton of pressure from the Eagles’ defense, including 10 QB hits and five sacks. Despite this, the embattled quarterback was able to nearly lead Dallas back from a 28-17 fourth quarter deficit to take out the defending NFC champs on the road.
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Late-game execution falls Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
That’s the largest issue here. Philadelphia’s defense gifted the Cowboys three penalties on that final drive, including a unnecessary roughness on Prescott.
Despite this, the ‘Boys were not able to convert these mistakes into a game-winning touchdown. Prescott taking that sack pretty much ended Dallas’ hopes. Simply put, he has to know better and find a way to get rid of the ball.
For Prescott and the Cowboys, it’s the continuation of late-game blunders dating back to their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs following the 2021 season. It also doesn’t sit well with the veteran signal caller.
“It sucks in the moment, but there’s a lot of good we can take (from this game.) We’re doing things the right way. It’s just an inch here, an inch there. We gotta find a way to gain that,” Prescott told reporters.
Dallas was right there with the class of the NFC on the road. It had an opportunity to come out on top and make a race of it in the NFC East.
Unfortunately, Prescott and Co. just couldn’t get over their own mistakes in what ended up being an ugly loss for the team.
At 5-3 on the season, the sky is not falling for Dallas. It has a get-right game against the disaster class that are the New York Giants next week before visiting another bad team in that of the Carolina Panthers. Everything should be just fine heading into Thanksgiving against the Washington Commanders.
Dallas just needs to do a better job executing when the game is on the line. It will have another opportunity against Philadelphia at home come Dec. 10.