Dak Prescott Says Cowboys’ Brotherhood Will Be Tested After Packers Loss

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Dak Prescott threw 54 passes and was intercepted twice in the first half Sunday night as the Dallas Cowboys fell 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Prescott finished 34-of-54 for 258 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions, with a 65.2 passer rating. He was sacked once. Dallas dropped to 2-4 with its second straight loss and did not score until the third quarter.

Prescott said he did not have the answer for the whole team yet and would look for it on the film. He started with the 13 points.

“It’s just frustrating not getting going, getting hit, getting [blitzed is] part of the game, but not executing our answers for it and only leaving the game with 13 points,” Prescott said.

Green Bay was credited with 7 quarterback hits on Prescott. He said he already knew of plays he made that led directly to a turnover and to Green Bay getting off the field on third down, and on fourth down on one of them.

“I’ve just got to simplify the plan, and that starts with me, and really it ends with me,” Prescott said. “You give yourselves a few options on blitz and you get in the game and you want to do this one, you want to do that one. And to me, it’s just I’ve got to be more simple and more direct in exactly what I want to do. And, yeah, I don’t want to get too into it, right, and tell my answers, but it’s definitely fixable.”

The first interception came one snap after linebacker Zaire Franklin came free on a blitz and hit Prescott as he threw incomplete on second-and-8 from the Green Bay 17. Safety Evan Williams picked off the next throw, intended for CeeDee Lamb, at the Green Bay 3. Prescott said Williams showed blitz, got out of it, and read his eyes the whole way.

“I took a good hit, hit to the ribs. Obviously, yeah, the wind knocked out of me, but I wasn’t coming out of the game,” Prescott said. “Yeah, to me, just give me a second and we can get it back going.”

On his way out of the room, Prescott said he would be fine and was a little bruised. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said he checked on Prescott after the hit, got a nod, and did not think it had anything to do with the interception.

The second interception came at the two-minute warning, when rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse jumped a slant after Lamb slipped. Schottenheimer said Prescott has historically been good against the blitz and that the last two games are ones Dallas has to look at.

Prescott threw for 86 yards in the first half and 172 after it. He said the Cowboys’ process is right, and that they still have to win on Sunday.

“I got to look at the film and see that. I know for myself that that’s what I was just talking about and just simplifying my plan for the blitz. That’s not anything necessarily for the coaches or something they didn’t do or aren’t doing,” Prescott explained. “That’s just something I’ve got to do to make that cleaner. And I think we’ll be better in that part, execute there. And then from there, we can build.”

Prescott’s longest completion went for 21 yards, to George Pickens in the final two minutes. He said Green Bay’s approach is built around the receivers Dallas has.

“They know the guys that we have. They know we want to take the top off of it, and they’re going to get back. That’s their method is stay the deepest, stay the furthest back, make us throw underneath and make tackles,” Prescott said. “And so we just got to catch and get some [YAC] and have the plays to make sure that we’re attacking underneath and taking advantage of what they’re showing and giving us.”

Lamb was targeted 18 times and caught 9 passes for 70 yards. His longest catch went for 17 yards. Prescott said he still did not have the answer for getting Lamb the ball.

“As we’ve said before, right, these teams know his capability. They know we want to attack with him downfield and really just any which way. And they do a good job of putting two guys on him. And so I think for us it’s about moving him maybe more early,” Prescott said. “[CeeDee] does move a lot. And so I think he puts himself in the position in different coverages. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing. And, yeah, we just got to find a way to get him the ball.”

“I don’t, once again, don’t have that answer for you right now,” Prescott continued. “But we got to find a way to get it to him.”

Schottenheimer is in his second season as the Cowboys’ coach. He said in his own news conference that the hard look at the last two games starts with him, and Prescott said the brotherhood the Cowboys brag about is about to be tested.

“Just the man he is, the way he approaches each and every day with the same process. Adversity’s hit us, and we’ve got to answer, and we’ve got to look it dead in the face. And this will test not just [Schotty], test myself, test this whole team,” Prescott said. “And it’s about, it’ll test this brotherhood that we brag about that. We say we’re going to hang our hat on it. So it’s going to test that, and we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

Before he spoke to reporters, Prescott had a quick talk with a teammate he called Q while getting dressed. He said he and the players in the locker room may be the only ones who still believe.

“It’s keep the guys together, for one. I mean, just me and Q just had a quick talk right there after getting dressed. And when your guys believe, you’ve got a chance. And we know right now that we’re probably the only ones, and the guys in the locker rooms are the only ones who do believe,” Prescott said. “We know the process. We have a great process. We practice the right way. We’re just not executing what we need to, to win games. And I mean, defense to me played a good enough game for us to go out there and win this. And we just didn’t hold our own on offense.”

“And that’s what ultimately sucks about it, but that’s the NFL,” Prescott continued. “And we’ve got to figure out a way to get better and to get out of this rut or hole or whatever it is that we’ve been in these last two games.”

Dallas had 10 days between its Oct. 8 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Sunday’s game. The Cowboys play on a Monday next week, and Prescott said the extra day or two will help the Cowboys find answers on the film.

“It’s not necessarily that easy to flush, but it should make you hungry to get back to work. And that’s the most important part of it,” Prescott said. “Whether you can flush it or not, maybe we shouldn’t flush it. Maybe we should bring this into each and every day. Maybe we should bring the last two weeks into each and every day of our preparation to intensify our focus and everything that we’re trying to accomplish.”

Dallas and Philadelphia are both 2-4. Prescott said he did not know the other teams’ records until he heard them after the game, and that records do not matter once a game starts.

“It’s about us fixing our issues, cleaning house, and just getting better. And from there, as you said, the division’s open. That’ll take care of itself,” Prescott said. “But we’ve got to win first, and we’ve got to get a win going. And then from there, we can try to build. But it’s about finding a way to win.”

The Cowboys visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, Oct. 26, at Lincoln Financial Field, with kickoff at 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and ABC. The Eagles lost 25-14 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, their fourth straight loss, and are also 2-4.

This article first appeared on Dallas Sports Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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