Cowboys QB Dak Prescott already fired up for next showdown vs 49ers in Week 5
The look, like so many of the 28 passes he had completed on the day, was laser-focused on its target and came with a noticeable amount of heat.
And then Dak Prescott held his glare, for nearly five full seconds, just to let it sink in.
Just minutes after one of the most accurate performances of his tenure as Cowboys quarterback, one in which the eighth-year veteran shook a couple monkeys off his back and delivered possibly the greatest head coach in history the worst defeat of his career in a 35-3 blowout of New England, Prescott found himself being asked to reflect back on January’s painful playoff loss to next week’s opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.
Specifically, one reporter wanted to know during Sunday’s postgame press conference, what was the feeling leaving that locker room a full 252 days prior?
And that’s when Prescott’s icy stare provided quite an answer, long before he even spoke a word.
“It’s obvious,” Prescott finally answered, a little incredulously. “I mean, we’re so far past that, to be honest with you. But that’s obvious. I mean, if you just want to piss me off going into this weekend, I appreciate that. I do, actually. I do.”
The two-time Pro Bowler was seemingly lost in thought for a moment as he processed this latest version of a question he’s been asked- and answered- maybe hundreds of times in various forms since that disappointing day in the Bay.
“Yeah, I appreciate that. Appreciate that.”
Dak's post-game presser when San Francisco came up.
This weekend will be one of the most important regular season games the Cowboys have played in recent history, especially from a morale standpoint. pic.twitter.com/ggid3OzuPe
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) October 2, 2023
That 19-12 divisional-round loss saw Prescott turn in a day he himself called “unacceptable.” His 63.6 passer rating was the lowest of his half-dozen postseason appearances and was one of the 20 worst showings of his pro career. Another two interceptions capped off a mistake-prone 2022 season for the former fourth-round draft pick and raised alarming questions that have followed him into this year’s campaign, despite a 3-1 start that’s included blowout wins versus both New York teams and Bill Belichick’s Patriots.
But Prescott says their looming date with San Francisco wasn’t on his mind this past week as the team looked to simply amend for their letdown in the desert the Sunday prior against Arizona.
“This is a week-by-week basis,” he told reporters. “This week and everything in preparation for this week had nothing to do with San Fran coming up.”
Week 4’s decisive 35-3 win saw Prescott complete 82.35% of his throws, his sixth-highest mark as a pro. The team also recorded a rare red-zone touchdown, and Prescott hooked up with CeeDee Lamb, the first scoring catch by a Dallas wide receiver this season.
It was a return to form, more like the impressive wins posted in Weeks 1 and 2, but with an offense that feels like it’s still coming to life under the play-calling of head coach Mike McCarthy. (The Dallas defense put two of the Cowboys’ four touchdowns on the board.)
“We focused, we did what we were supposed to do what we wanted to do- capitalizing on our game plan, getting back to the things that work, scoring early, allowing our defense to go hunt with the lead,” Prescott explained.
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The win also continued a notable trend. ESPN’s Ed Werder pointed out that, over the past three years, Dallas is 9-1 coming off losses and has averaged 33 points per contest in those games.
Prescott and the Cowboys clearly know how to bounce back. Now they’ll look to do it against the team that’s sent them home from the past two postseasons.
“Now it’s about turning the page, studying the hell out of [the 49ers], understanding who’ve they’ve been, what this matchup’s been the last couple years. [We] had to play them in the playoffs, understand it’s a team that, if we want to get to where we want to get, we’ve got to play them again come playoffs. Looking forward to the matchup.”
But that doesn’t mean Prescott is eager to re-live that last meeting. There he was, though, standing at the podium moments after a confidence-instilling win, being grilled on how often he thinks about that gut-wrenching playoff loss.
“Every f–” Prescott started before biting his tongue.
He collected himself ever so briefly before trying again.
“Every day. Every day.”
