Mike McCarthy excited about Dak Prescott, but Cowboys need more against 49ers

To have an honest conversation about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott heading into a Week 8 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, one has to admit that the $240M man has been a bit underwhelming.

The Cowboys are 3-3, and Prescott’s lack of star play has been one of the reasons why. He has thrown for 1,602 yards and eight touchdowns, but he’s also thrown six interceptions. His completion percentage of 63.4% is the second worst of his career (he completed just 62.9% of his passes in 2017), and he’s completed less than 60% of his passes in three of six games this season.

Those aren’t the type of numbers you’re looking for if you’re Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Jones made Prescott one of the richest players in NFL history because he believed he can finally live up to his star potential and lead the Cowboys to the promised land.

Through six games, though, the Cowboys are far from a lock to make the playoffs, let alone to make a run to the Super Bowl. And make no mistake, a Super Bowl is the expectation for the Cowboys. The problem is that’s a mark they’ve failed to hit since 1996.

To be fair to Prescott, he’s at least honest about his shortcomings. He may not always have the talent he needs on the field, but nobody has ever questioned his talent or leadership.

“I’d say I’ve played average, and it isn’t good enough right now by any means,” Prescott recently said, according to ESPN. “It’s never been good enough for me. I can’t say that I’ve been happy or excited after any of these games that I’ve played. But understanding there’s more plays out there for me to make, whether it’s in the design or not. [I’m] capable of it.”

The thing is, Prescott is capable. He threw for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns last season with just nine interceptions. His completion percentage was 69.5%, which was the best of his career.

Everyone knows he’s capable, and when he’s on his game, there’s no doubt that he’s a top-10 quarterback in this league.

“Damn excited and glad he’s our quarterback,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said while evaluating Prescott’s performance up until the bye week and also looking forward to what he hopes is a strong second half of the season.

McCarthy may be excited, but excitement isn’t going to win games for the Cowboys. They’ve had plenty of hype over the years that hasn’t panned out. What they need is results.

Like it or not, that starts with Prescott. He’s been the face of the franchise since 2016, so when things are good, he gets the credit. When things go bad, though, he deserves to shoulder most of the blame.

McCarthy also said that Prescott’s middling numbers so far in 2024 don’t tell the whole story of his play.

“There’s more to those statistics,” McCarthy said. “Situational involvement is very high in those evaluations too. It’s six games. That’s another thing.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer agreed that Prescott can’t be judged on his interceptions and low completion percentage alone.

“I think each play is its own. Interceptions happen for different reasons. Turnovers happen for different reasons. But I don’t think he’s pressing,” Schottenheimer said. “I think he knows who we are. I think for us, we just haven’t been able to play a ton of football that’s been very complementary football.”

The numbers may not tell the whole story, but Prescott certainly hasn’t lived up to his average annual salary of $60M. 

The good news is he’ll have a chance to start turning things around on “Sunday Night Football” against the 49ers in Week 8. What once looked like a marquee matchup is now a game between a 3-3 Cowboys team and an extremely injured 3-4 49ers squad.

At this juncture, the 49ers’ usually elite defense is middle of the pack. They’re giving up 318 yards per game, which is 14th in the NFL, and 205.1 yards per game through the air, which is 16th in the league. That’s a drop-off from last season when they gave up 303.9 yards per game (eighth in the NFL). That’s not to mention that offensively, due to injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, this is far from the juggernaut unit that they were last season when they made a Super Bowl run.

This game is supremely winnable for Prescott and the Cowboys, but he’ll have to start playing his A-game if he wants to make it happen.