Dallas Cowboys: 5 Things to be Thankful for in 2018
By Randy Gurzi
5. Dak Prescott’s leadership
It’s become commonplace to question Dak Prescott as the future of the Dallas Cowboys. The third-year quarterback was phenomenal as a rookie in 2016, leading the team to a 13-3 record. He also earned the job over Tony Romo, who was out with a back injury.
Then in 2017, things were different. Dak and the Cowboys were 9-7, but it felt like they were much worse than that record would indicate. After an offseason of changing the offense, Prescott was supposed to be back to his 2016 form this year. That wasn’t the case.
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Prescott has struggled and is a big reason they were just 3-5 at the midway point. He did deserve a lot of blame for that and the criticism was warranted. Just as warranted is praise for how he has played the past two weeks as he led the Cowboys to two wins in close contests. Both games came down to the wire, with their latest win against Atlanta coming on a last-second kick by Brett Maher.
Prescott had a similar win against the Lions this season and even nearly brought them back against the Washington Redskins, although Maher missed that kick which would have sent it to overtime. Of course, in that same Washington game, Prescott did have a terrible turnover that blew the game open, but he showed poise and leadership to bring the team back.
While many of us may doubt Prescott, he’s a leader that this team believes in. They know he will give it all he has and Sunday was his 12th career game-winning drive, which proves he is able to deliver in the clutch. While he may not be perfect as a quarterback, he has so many of the intangibles that a team leader needs.