Dallas Cowboys 'Don't Trust Dak Prescott!' Claims 'Hater' Shady McCoy

People reference one’s character a lot when talking about franchise quarterbacks. It’s important to have the poise for the job when the spotlight is consistently pointed in their direction. They get all the credit when things are going well, and all the blame when things go downhill.

And if that quarterback plays for the Dallas Cowboys? The scrutiny goes double.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw a game-sealing interception against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. It was the fourth of five red-zone drives without a touchdown and the final error in a 28-16 loss. Naturally, it took the national media by storm.

On FS1’s “Speak,” former Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy, who has a history of commenting negtively on Prescott’s play, sounded off again. ... this time suggesting that the 2-1 team's failings are the result of the Cowboys lack of "trust'' in Dak.

“If you really watch the Cowboys’ offense, and I’ve been saying this since Day 1,” McCoy began. “The defense looks great, that’s why it looks like they’ve been so dominant, but the offense, they ran the ball well and they were super conservative.”

Perhaps “watch” is a strong word coming from McCoy, who attended a practice that Cowboys running back Tony Pollard did not, only to praise how the back “looked good.”

Using Presoctt’s surrounding cast as a reason to criticize him only makes sense if you disregard every piece of evidence to the contrary. That’s the convenient truth about these kinds of narratives. Unless he wins Dallas a Super Bowl, takes home the game’s MVP award, and takes some snaps on defense, too, there will always be something to say to discredit him.

Regardless, Dallas was indeed conservative on Sunday. Prescott’s 5.1 air yards per attempt was the second-lowest of any starter in Week 3. For reference, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa also had fewer than six air yards per attempt. Struggling Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields had the highest mark of the week.

“Why were they super-conservative? They don’t have a rookie quarterback,” McCoy continued. “They don’t trust Dak Prescott … ‘We’re not throwing it, we’re gonna run it’ … because they don’t trust him. If you want to pay a quarterback $160 million and you don’t trust him to throw the ball without making turnovers, you can’t win like that.”

Of course, there are plenty of reasons why the Cowboys may have favored the quick-passing and run game and on Sunday. The clock striking midnight on their quarterback wasn’t one of them.

The strategy was operating at a high level, especially against the highly-touted New York Jets’ defense in Week 2. They had to game plan around missing three offensive linemen, two of which are Canton-bound. Oh, and Arizona’s success rate against the run is the second-worst in football.

Nobody is saying Prescott had a banner day or should be absolved of all blame. Sometimes, good players have bad games. It’s a fact of life. Insinuating Dallas doesn’t trust the passer they’ve handed market-setting contracts to (and are looking to extend) simply doesn’t pass the smell test.

Ultimately, McCoy has a job to do: bringing attention to his show by any means necessary. Poking fun at the face of football’s biggest franchise - last year he stated ineloquently, "Dak is (butt)!'' - is a good way to do that, no matter how mind-numbingly baseless his claims tend to be. Congratulations, Shady, on a job well done.

Expect Prescott to be criticized again if he doesn’t break the single-game passing record against the New England Patriots on Sunday.