Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott Can Handle High Bar Tony Romo Set
By Randy Gurzi
The bar as Dallas Cowboys quarterback was set high by Tony Romo, but Dak Prescott has the tools to meet the expectations.
Much has been discussed in the wake of quarterback Tony Romo’s decision to take a job as an announcer for CBS rather than continue his playing career. There’s been talk about what the Houston Texans—a team rumored to have interest in his services—will do now and how it elevates other free agent quarterbacks like Jay Cutler, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Fitzpatrick. What hasn’t been discussed as much is how much is expected out of his replacement Dak Prescott has to live up to now as the face of the Dallas Cowboys franchise.
In 2016, Dak wasn’t supposed to become a star, but he did. After backup quarterback Kellen Moore suffered a broken leg, the fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State moved up the depth chart. Then a back injury to Romo thrust him completely in the spotlight as Prescott was the starter for one of the most visible franchises in the NFL.
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All Prescott did was lead them to a 13-3 record while winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. He also broke the record for most passes to start a career without an interception by going his first 176 passes without throwing a pick—passing the mark of 162 set by Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. It wasn’t the only time he was mentioned in the same breath as the legendary Brady. Dak also became the only person besides Brady to throw for over 3,500 and have less than five picks in a season.
A tweet by NFL director of communications Randall Liu points out that, while Brady has done this twice, it took him until 2010 to hone his skills to such a precise level. As for Prescott, he became the first rookie to show such care of the ball.
Dak Prescott is the 2nd player (1st rookie) in NFL history to have 3,500+ pass yards & fewer than 5 INT in a season (Tom Brady, 2010 & 2016) pic.twitter.com/xjuzuc13xJ
— Randall Liu (@RLiuCBS) January 2, 2017
Despite all he accomplished, there was the never-ending talk about what if Romo played. Sure, with Prescott they were a playoff team, but there was still the mass of fans who believed Romo would put them over the hump and make them contenders.