Dak Prescott put in extra time to fix struggling Cowboys’ offense

Dak Prescott came into the 2021 season looking to bounce back from the compound fracture of his right ankle and pick back up where he left off production-wise. He got off to an amazing start in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 403 yards and three touchdowns, and it continued in the weeks to follow.

After the first six games of the season, Prescott had 16 touchdown passes to just four interceptions with five games of three touchdowns passes or more, and the Cowboys’ offense looked unstoppable. However since suffering a calf strain on the final play in an overtime thriller against the New England Patriots in Week 6 which forced him to miss a game, Prescott has nine touchdowns to six interceptions and has only reached 300 yards once.

In light of this, Prescott has been going the extra mile in the last few weeks with his wide receivers to get the Cowboys’ offense back to the juggernaut it was to start the season per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Prescott’s injury may have only cost him one game but his timing and decision-making have looked a little off since then, which he admitted before the Cowboys took on the New York Giants last week.

“But I do realize I’m not playing my best ball, I haven’t been playing it,” Prescott said. “I’ve made some poor decisions, I guess you could say. But that’s kind of part of it. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘slump’ material. But definitely not up to my standard and expectations. And when you play at a high level, that’s what you create.”

While Prescott has been searching to find his groove again, he’s had several receivers miss games due to COVID protocols and injuries since his return. Also, there’s been another problem that has plagued the Cowboys’ offense, dropped passes. Specifically, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been at the forefront of this issue lately, and it was highlighted by several drops he had against the Giants.

The second-year sensation didn’t shy away from his lackluster performance albeit in a Cowboys win.

“I played terrible, to be honest,’’ Lamb said. “I feel like I could play better. I had three drops, something like that. I feel like I could’ve played better.”

All of these factors have led to the decline of the Cowboys’ offense over the last month or so. They still rank No. 1 in the NFL at 403.3 yards per game despite their recent struggles which explains how explosive they were to start the season.

Luckily for the Cowboys, they have three more games to get back on track offensively before they get to the playoffs. With the aforementioned Lamb, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Cedrick Wilson at Prescott’s disposal, the Cowboys have more than enough talent to get the passing game back to where it needs to be. Also, if they can regain their mojo through the air, that will open up things for Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard who are arguably the best one-two punch at running back in the NFL.

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