Dak Prescott understands the game — and judging from his comments, he doesn’t seem fazed by it.
In case you’ve lacked an internet connection these last nine months, Prescott is one of the NFL’s biggest flashpoints in 2023. The Cowboys‘ franchise quarterback struggled with ball security last fall, leading the league in interceptions despite missing five games with a thumb injury. If that wasn’t bad enough, his two-pick performance in the team’s playoff loss to San Francisco left a lasting impression heading into the offseason.
“We are a talking point,” Prescott said last week at his annual youth camp. “As you find something to talk about, that’s the first thing to go to.” Prescott should understand that more than most. He’s entering his eighth season as the starting quarterback of the most visible, most polarizing team in professional football.
And yet, never one to shy away from a challenge, that didn’t stop Prescott from showing some confidence about cutting down on picks in 2023: “Mike does an amazing job — you can ask Ferg and those guys, if they know where the hell to be, why to be and when they’re getting looked at, that’s going to be (a) big jump, I think. We won’t have these tipped interceptions this year.”
However many picks he might have thrown in 2022, Prescott has not traditionally struggled with that aspect of his game. Across 3,499 career attempts, he has thrown 70 interceptions — just 2% of his throws. That’s a number that compares favorably to just about any of the game’s quarterbacks. As Prescott alluded to himself, many of his turnovers in 2022 can be attributed to bad luck. “I know who I am, and you can go back and take away half of those off drops,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s on the receiver, but if you cut that in half then we start talking about those, nobody is talking about it.”
He might be right about that, but it isn’t enough to quiet the noise. Four of Prescott’s 15 regular-season interceptions were dropped or tipped by Dallas receivers — though critics will be sure to point out that several would-be interceptions were dropped by defenders.
To give the Cowboys credit, they committed to helping Prescott avoid the problem in 2023. Last year they entered the season with Noah Brown and Dennis Houston as their primary receivers behind CeeDee Lamb. This time around, they’ll have Brandin Cooks and a fully healthy (knock on wood) Michael Gallup to help Prescott make plays in the passing game.
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That, combined with head coach Mike McCarthy resuming play-calling duties, seemingly gives confidence that some of those issues will be ironed out. “Some of it is the offense and them understanding exactly where we are,” Prescott said. “Mike does an amazing job with those guys. They know where to be, why to be, when they’re getting looked at. That’s going to be a big jump.”
Again, it isn’t the craziest prediction you’ll hear this summer. The Cowboys have been among the league’s best offenses for most of Prescott’s career — even when he couldn’t break his turnover habits last fall.
But these are the type of comments that will get remembered, for better or for worse, when the lights come on in the fall.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story featured a quote that was misheard by another outlet. It has been amended
David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion” about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.
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