'Turn the Page!' on Turnovers: Cowboys' Dak Prescott Brushes Off 'Style' Concerns
Christmas Day has passed, but Dak Prescott was in an all-too-giving mood on Thursday night in Nashville.
Prescott's Dallas Cowboys perhaps allowed for the training camp second unit posing as the Tennessee Titans to linger a little too long in the nationally-stream clash. Though Dallas eventually prevailed in convincing 27-13 fashion, the starred quarterback was perhaps a bit too responsible for that, being involved in the losing of three turnovers over the first half-hour of game time.
But ...
"Whether the interception you feel is your fault, not your fault, whether you throw it to the guy and lose out on points before half or not, you've got to be able to turn the page and just move on," Prescott noted. "That's something that, honestly, I take pride in. Obviously, you're not trying to have that adversity or cause that adversity, but good or bad, I'm on to the next play."
Dallas led 10-6 going into the break but a Tennessee offense missing several headliners (including star rusher Derrick Henry) but those six points were squeezed from the latter pair of Prescott partings. A baseball-style official scorer likely would've absolved Prescott of his first interception (a Peyton Hendershot bobble that landed in the hands of Kevin Byard) but his second, intended for Dalton Schultz, was his responsibility and allowed the Titans to earn a buzzer-beating field goal.
Prescott previously lost a fumble as Dallas held a 10-0 lead but the defense managed to force Tennessee into a three-and-out.
The Dallas quarterback, by the way, was briefly seen favoring his right leg as the first half came to end, but team owner Jerry Jones brushed off concerns of an injury in the aftermath.
Prescott was able to clean up his box score to the tune of two second-half scoring throws to Schultz. The quarterback, however, is undoubtedly aware that Thursday's show was not very promising for a team still alive for a division title, no matter how remote that may seem.
That's perhaps why he opted to focus on the positives of Thursday's visit to the Music City, claiming the ability of both he and the offense to rebound in the face of an unexpected challenge is exactly what they needed.
Admittedly, Dallas (12-4) has been able to withstand Prescott mistakes (and team mistakes) better than ever: with the win on Thursday, the Cowboys improved to 3-2 when Prescott throws multiple interceptions in a single game. They were 3-10 in such instances prior to kickoff in 2022.
But that, of course, only highlights how increased turnovers have been a problem for the franchise thrower. During Amazon's halftime production, cornerback-turned-analyst Richard Sherman noted that Prescott's aerial errors tied him for the worst kind of league lead with Las Vegas' recently-benched Derek Carr ... and that Prescott did so in four fewer games.
Prescott admitted his 14-loss output (a career-worst besting his sophomore season in 2017) is "frustrating" and that six-game streak with at least one misfire "has to stop" by the time the postseason hits. But he sounds more confident than ever in his ability to overcome those mistakes if and when they happen.
"It might be frustrating, but by the time, I'd say a minute after I've sat down on the sideline, I've got it out of my head," Prescott noted, before playfully chiding the viewing public for brushing off the impact of a win. "The style points and all that, that's for you all who think games are won on paper."
"He's wired the right way, our players are wired the right way," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy concurred. "Unfortunately you go through ups and downs in this league, that's the beauty of how competitive this league is. This is a game we needed to get and we got it done, so whether we don't get any style points, that's OK, we're still at 12 wins."
Time will tell if the Cowboys' season finale holds any meaning and forces Prescott and his fellow starters to partake. Nonetheless, Dallas will wrap up the regular season next Sunday, Jan. 8, with a rematch against the Washington Commanders.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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