The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Sophomore slump for Dak?

Roar Rookie
3rd September, 2017
Advertisement
Dak Prescott. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
Roar Rookie
3rd September, 2017
5

Will there be a sophomore slump for Dak Prescott? This is a question that has many NFL pundits in disagreement about the Cowboys upcoming season and potentially their Super Bowl hopes.

As we have seen in recent years, most notably with RGIII, that a superb rookie season doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to continue on that path for years to come.

In his 15 rookie season games, RGIII threw for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions with a QB rating of 72.1, as well as rushing for over 800 yards and seven rushing TDs en route to taking the Redskins to the playoffs, which they eventually lost in the wild card round to the Seahawks 14-24.

Unfortunately due to persistent injuries and bad play he never quite captured his spark and moved on to the Cleveland Browns after three up and down seasons with the Redskins and now is somewhat a forgotten man.

Now we come to Dak Prescott, the fourth round pick out of Mississippi State wasn’t even considered to get the chance to play in the regular season with the Cowboys, mostly hoping to get some snaps in a few pre-season games and potentially be on the 53-man roster when the regular season rolls around.

In the pre-season games Dak did get his chance, in total he completed 39 of 50 passes going at 78 per cent, going with five TDs and two rushing TDs and no interceptions.

With Jerry Jones’ golden boy Tony Romo going down again with injury, Dak was thrust into the starting job for the 2016 season, with many expecting him and the Cowboys to struggle and struggle badly.

In actual fact it was the reverse, if it wasn’t for Terrance Williams’ brain fade and not going out of bounds to stop the clock, the Cowboys could of potentially started the season with a win with Dak having The Boys rolling down field in the last quarter, losing to the Giants 20-19.

Advertisement

In his rookie season Dak threw for 3,667 yards with 23 TD’s to only four interceptions with a QB rating of 104.9, which for a rookie is almost unheard of. After the opening day loss to The Giants, Dallas then went on an 11-game winning streak which included Dak going to Aaron Rodgers place at Lambeau Field and outplaying the future hall of famer and walking out with a 30-16 win.

Now many have said that the Packers were on a slide at the time. The Packers were 3-1 so the slide wasn’t that bad in my opinion.

Then in Prescott’s next big test was facing Big Ben in Pittsburgh. In what was in my mind was one of the games of the year, the Cowboys came into town and took care of business, with Dak overcoming an early fumble, ended the game with 22-32 passing for 319 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. His partner in crime Zeke Elliott rushed for 114 yards and two TDs, including the game winner with nine seconds remaining to give the Cowboys a memorable 35-30 win and leading an 8-1 record.

All in all it was a sensational rookie season for Prescott, leading the Cowboys to a 13-2 record, the number one seed in the NFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The season didn’t have the fairytale ending many Cowboys fans wanted to see, with the Cowboys going down 34-31 to the red-hot Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Jerry world.

So will Dak have a slump? Judging by what he has done last year and his performances in this year’s pre season games, there is a real chance that Prescott will avoid the sophomore slump and continue to lead America’s team for many years to come. Only time will tell if he and The Cowboys are up to the task.

close