Tony Romo fans might not want to hear this, but according to Jason Garrett Dak Prescott will not be on a short leash the rest of the season.
Really, this isn’t a surprising development. Given how well Prescott has performed, and given the chemistry the team has with him leading the offense, it would be foolish to yank him from the starting lineup after one bad start.
This is exactly the reasoning Garrett shared when making it clear Prescott won’t have to look over his shoulder.
“We certainly don’t want any of our players looking over their shoulder when they play,” Garrett said, per Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram. “We want to instill confidence in them going into the game. One of the best things Dak has done is handle the different ups and downs of a ball game, the different adversities and continue to play. That’s been a good thing for our football team. I think the rest of our team has done a good job of that. So we’ll continue to approach it that way and he’ll take full advantage of the opportunities he gets.”
The Cowboys are currently 8-1 as they prepare for a tough home game against the Baltimore Ravens — a team we’ve picked to break up Dallas’ eight-game winning streak this week. The Ravens feature the league’s stingiest defense and have the best run defense in the NFL.
Much of Prescott’s success has been possible because teams cannot afford to send too many men after him for fear of Ezekiel Elliott running wild. The Cowboys have as balanced an attack as there is in the NFL this year. Prescott has attempted 280 passes and the team has run the ball 303 times.
To this point, the rookie quarterback has given the Cowboys no reason to pull him out of the lineup. He’s played so well that even Tony Romo had to concede there was no way for him to come back and start in Prescott’s stead. One bad game shouldn’t immediately mean Prescott gets yanked. Heck, even two poor performances might not be enough for Dallas to consider bringing Romo back into the starting lineup.
The Cowboys have been incredibly smart about what they’ve said and done regarding the tricky quarterback situation this year has brought them. They’re continuing to make the smart decision going forward, and that means keeping Prescott on the field until he proves he’s absolutely not the right guy for this team.