Dak Prescott had every reason to be a little tight heading into Monday’s playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Dallas Cowboys had not won a road playoff game since 1992, and have been dogged for years for their postseason failures. Prescott had a 1-3 mark in the postseason for the Cowboys. He was also coming off a poor performance in the regular-season finale.
Team owner Jerry Jones knew Prescott had a lot to think about. So as USA Today’s Jori Epstein reported, Jones found his quarterback before the game and shared a simple message.
“I talked to him before the game, and all I said was: ‘Absolutely, do not not take risks,’” Jones said after the game (via Epstein). “‘Be aggressive.’”
The message worked. Prescott had the best game of his career, completed 25-of-33 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored a rushing TD. The Cowboys finally won a road playoff game, beating the Bucs 31-14.
“There was no question before this game Dak was going to have to win it for us … to step out here and go and be the difference,” Jones said. “He did. He was. It served notice to everybody — including his teammates, including himself.”
Prescott said after the game that after he played poorly in a loss to the Washington Commanders a week earlier, he “wiped that clean.”
“I got away from how I play this game — I got greedy,” Prescott said (via the Dallas Cowboys team website). “I tried to force some throws, take the big ones, and that’s not who I’ve been in my career. … So it was a way for me to just dial back in, but I wiped that clean because I knew what this game meant.”
It probably didn’t hurt that Jones gave Prescott confidence not to be reluctant to throw the ball.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.