One of the most criticized after the elimination of the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs, without a doubt, is NFL End-of-Season Review: Individual Honors”>Dak Prescott. The Dallas franchise quarterback had a disappointing end to the season after dazzling early in the season. However, there are those who see Dak’s regression with respect to past seasons as worrying. Even his performance is becoming much more like that of his predecessor: Tony Romo.
When Prescott earned the starting job over Romo in 2016, expectations were high for his strong performance in his first year in the NFL. In fact, Dak is the only quarterback selected in the fourth round of the Draft who has played the entire regular season as a starter. At the time, many fans were rubbing their hands in anticipation. And even more so seeing Romo’s performance as Dallas franchise quarterback.
Now, after six seasons, Prescott’s performance doesn’t seem too far removed from #9. And this is reflected in various statistics.
The first of these is his record in his first four postseason games. Dak Prescott is 1-3 in this span, with his only win coming in 2018 against the Seahawks. Meanwhile, Tony Romo also went 1-3 in his first four playoff games, going 2-4 career in this instance. Besides, these 1-3 records occurred in both QB’s first six years in Dallas.
A shame… https://t.co/qaykrAHbTj
— Jimmy Johnson (@JimmyJohnson) January 18, 2022
However, this is not the only parallel between Prescott and Romo. According Tim Cowlishaw de Dallas Morning News, there are other very similar statistics between the two:
- % of games won as a starter (for life in the NFL): Prescott 62.3%; Blunt 61.4%.
- Passer rating: Prescott 98.7; Blunt 97.1.
- Passes Completed: Prescott 66.6%; Blunt 65.3%.
- % of passes intercepted: Prescott 1.7%; Blunt 2.7%.
Besides, it should not be forgotten that Prescott broke Romo’s record as the Dallas quarterback with the most touchdown passes in a season. Against the Eagles in Week 18, Dak had his 36th touchdown pass of the season, creating a new Cowboy team record.
And with that TD, Dak Prescott has set the #DallasCowboys single-season passing TD record (37) breaking Tony Romo’s record set in 2007!
— Entirely Sports (@Entirely_Sports) January 9, 2022
However, Prescott is being more of a stat quarterback than a title quarterback like Romo was. Neither has managed to get the Cowboys back to at least the NFC finals. However, the salary differences are notable. According spotrac dataRomo’s maximum salary in Dallas was $18 million. Meanwhile, Prescott earns 40 million a year, being the third highest paid in the NFL today.
Beyond the comparisons, the performance of Dak Prescott has come down. In 2016, the Mississippi State product impressed everyone with his performance, causing Tony Romo to step down as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. Many rubbed their hands thinking what the future held. However, after six years and a million-dollar contract extension, Prescott’s present is far from expected.
After a great start to the 2021 season, Prescott’s performance declined for the rest of the season. This was a big factor in Dallas’ elimination in the wild card round at the hands of San Francisco. And this, of course, has raised a lot of criticism around the quarterback.
Cowboys legends criticize Prescott
Some of that criticism of Prescott has been made by cowboy legends. One of them, briefly, was made by former coach Jimmy Johnson. Two-time Super Bowl winner with Dallas commented on Twitter on Tony Romo and Dak Prescott’s numbers in their first four postseason games. And his comment was short but forceful: “A penalty”.
Another criticism came from Drew Pearson, a former Dallas wide receiver and Hall of Famer. In a recent appearance on The Zach Gelb Show, the Super Bowl XII champion was disappointed with the quarterback’s performance during the season.
“I have doubts about Dak”Pearson said. “I saw a regression over the course of the season. That’s a disappointment that costs 40 million a year. It’s not about the money. It is about who plays in that position and does not improve, but goes down in a year where we started very well. We almost had the NFC East won in the first seven weeks. Then everything went downhill. Much of this was on offense, predicated on the quarterback’s play.”
Former #Cowboys WR Drew Pearson told @ZachGelb on CBS Sports Radio that his confidence in #Dak is wavering.
“I’m just wavering now with Dak. I saw regression as the season went on, and that’s a disappointment at $40 million a year.”https://t.co/QKLn4LXCnI
— Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) January 18, 2022
Pearson’s was one of many received by Prescott this week after the elimination of Dallas. In addition, his postseason performance has also been compared to that of other quarterbacks. The most recent case is that of Joe Burrow, quarterback of the Bengals, who has two wins in his first two postseason games. This, let’s remember, being only in his second year in the NFL. And a Dallas Morning News reporter brought this up on Twitter to compare him to Prescott.
This man has won twice as many playoff games in 8 days as Dak Prescott has in the first 6 seasons of his Cowboys career.
Enjoy the rest of the postseason. pic.twitter.com/7pLrsvf99o
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) January 23, 2022
Beyond comparisons to Tony Romo and other quarterbacks, there will be plenty of criticism of Dak Prescott between now and next season. The figure of the franchise QB in Dallas is currently in doubt, even more so after his words supporting violence towards referees. Only time will tell if Prescott can forge a legacy that lives up to the hype around him. Or if, on the contrary, it will be a more expensive version of Romo.
