Can the Eagles finally end years of frustration against Dak Prescott?
Can the Eagles finally end years of frustration against Dak Prescott? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Darius Slay has never intercepted Dak Prescott. Neither has James Bradberry or Reed Blankenship or any other defensive back that began the season with the Eagles.
Kevin Byard has.
Three times.
And after the first one – a Titans win over the Cowboys five years ago this week - he did a little dance on the star at midfield at AT&T Stadium to celebrate.
“Coming into my third year, we got some Monday night games,” the newest Eagle recalled Wednesday. “I think we had two Monday night games that year. That was the first one so I had a big game. … It was a party at the star.”
The Cowboys were up 7-0 and had a 2nd-and-goal at the Titans’ 6-yard-line, so they were about to go up 14-0. Prescott tried to find Amari Cooper in the end zone, but Byard picked him off for a touchback and the Titans – behind Marcus Mariota – went on to win 28-14.
“My brother didn't like it a lot and also the league didn't like it because they fined me $10,000,” Byard said with a laugh. “But it was worth it. It was a good fine.
“That was kind of like my coming out party in my first Monday night football game, prime-time game. It was definitely an exciting moment for me and my career.”
Byard might be exactly what the Eagles need this weekend because they haven’t had much success against Prescott.
Byard is the only NFL player to pick off Prescott three times. One-time Eagle Rudy Ford is among six players who’ve gotten him twice. Although Josh Sweat victimized him for a pick-6 last year in a game the Cowboys won, the last Eagles defensive back to intercept Prescott is Jalen Mills in 2019.
There isn’t a defensive back who’ll play Sunday who’s been part of a win over Prescott in an Eagles uniform. The starting d-backs last time the Eagles beat him were Mills, Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins. The backups were Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, Rasul Douglas, Marcus Epps, Craig James and Cre’von LeBlanc. Only Maddox is still here, and he's on IR.
Who better to ask about Prescott than a guy who’s faced him twice and picked him off three times?
“First and second down, they really want to work more (than in the past) on the quick pass game,” Byard said. “Kind of get them going early, make them be efficient, be really good on first and second down so they can be in third-and-short because I think they're one of the best if not the best third-down team in the league (3rd at 48 percent) because they're really good on first and second down. So I just think they're taking what the defense gives them.
“But a guy like him, he's very accurate. He trusts his arm, trusts his receivers, he wants to get his playmakers the ball early and often, so the key is making sure that you're being physical with these receivers knowing they're going to run a lot of quick games and things like that. We have to play well on the outside to win.”
The Eagles will try to beat Prescott for the first time since 2019 when the Eagles and Cowboys meet at the Linc in a game with enormous NFC playoff implications.
Among quarterbacks who’ve started at least 10 career games against the Eagles, Prescott’s .727 winning percentage is 4th-highest all-time – behind Roger Staubach (14-3, .824), Sonny Jurgensen (12-3, .800) and Y.A. Tittle (8-2, .800). That makes it the highest in the last 40 years.
That’s what the Eagles are up against Sunday.
In his last eight starts vs. the Eagles, Prescott has 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. In those eight games, Prescott has completed 74 percent of his passes with a 113.3 passer rating.
Two of those wins he faced mainly Eagles backups in games with no playoff implications. Still, he’s completed at least 75 percent of his passes five times against the Eagles – more than any other quarterback in history – and his 67.5 percent career completion percentage vs. the Eagles is 4th-highest all-time (behind Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Andy Dalton).
Other than a disastrous three-interception game in a loss to the 49ers, Prescott has been very good this year. His 71 percent completion percentage is 2nd-highest in the league (behind Josh Allen).
Prescott doesn’t have much of a postseason pedigree – a 2-4 record in the playoffs in his first seven seasons – but his 66 wins since 2016 are 4th-most in the NFL, behind Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.
“He’s done really well against us the last couple of times he's played us,” said Nick Sirianni, who’s 0-3 vs. Prescott. “And just like any quarterback, you have to try to confuse (them) and you have to try to hit them and to try to knock him off his rhythm
“But I can't tell you how much respect I have for Dak. I just feel like he's one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and we have our hands full going into this game.”
