A contest that was a pendulum swing for both teams, the Cowboys put the Falcons’ season on the brink Sunday afternoon. Kicker Brett Maher would nail a redemptive game-winning 42-yard field goal to send Dallas to 5-5. What first seemed like another troubling week for the offense, Dallas turned to their thoroughbred in Zeke by giving him 19 of his 30 touches in the second half, outscoring the Falcons 16-13.
Now Brett Maher would not be the only Cowboy to receive a chance of making right on a past mistake. It’s been a near-paradigm shift for Prescott’s career since the last time the Cowboys met up against Falcons. From rookie of the year honors to being a dark horse candidate in his second year, Dak’s numbers have been brutal to revisit after taking 8 sacks that day. Simply looking at the box score, nothing jumps out from Prescott this week. Throwing for 208 yards on 69% completed passes and his only touchdown coming from a 4-yard keeper, how could someone be convinced that Dak played well?
One area on the year that Dallas has struggled mightily on offense is third down conversions, as they rank 24th in the league at a 37.4% rate. However, against Atlanta, the offense leaped up to 54% (5th in the league for Week 11), with Prescott earning another set of downs 44% of the time when a pass was called. Furthermore, in the second half, Dak would go 3 for 5 on third downs while obtaining another one on the ground.
Managing to only score one field goal in the first two quarters, Dallas turned around and was able to score on 4 of their 5 possessions in the second half. Though the dependency fell heavy into Elliott’s lap, Prescott completed some crucial throws and would lead another game-winning drive going 4/6 for 45 yards.
Whew. @Bease11 puts Robert Alford's ankles in a blender on this crucial catch on the Cowboys game-winning drive. Great job by Beasley of creating a ton of separation in a crucial moment. Nice job by Dak to slide in the pocket & make the throw to his right while moving to his left pic.twitter.com/XrWu0DhvmR
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 19, 2018
Aside from what Dallas Morning News own John Owning detailed, there are two things Dak did that has been a headache to watch for the most part this season. Pocket awareness and footwork. Not allowing himself to become dead in the pocket by creating bricks as feet, the throw becomes easier to make, and instead of retreating in the pocket, Dak effortlessly stepped into the open area and delivered a pass that led to a 20 yard gain on the last drive.
Additionally, this play as well would be primarily credited to Cooper, which it should, but see it again. Another thing that hurts Prescott and is criticized a lot is his accuracy. Some come from what looks like the easiest of throws, but few deal with his lack of correct ball placement. Kudos to Amari and his will to work back to the ball, but Dak finally put it in a place to where only his receiver could make the play.
Who said Amari Cooper couldn't catch?!?! pic.twitter.com/xsLqpd7ggl
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 19, 2018
Now, sitting at .500, the Cowboys have a chance to take over the division and
extend their winning streak to three games. Dak and the ‘Boys host the Redskins on Thanksgiving day at 4:30 P.M. EST on FOX. Dallas will enter the game as a 7.5 point favorites.
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