DALLAS — Quarterback is the premier position in the NFL. The entire game flows through the field general. As such, a quarterback is measured by the team's success — fairly or unfairly. That is the unwritten rule of playing quarterback in the league.
The Dallas Cowboys haven't sniffed an NFC Championship Game since 1996. Therefore, Dak Prescott bears the brunt of that blame, right or wrong, and it influences how he is perceived as a signal caller.
According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire (USA TODAY Sports), Prescott ranked No. 10 in his top-12 quarterback rankings heading into the 2022 season. Where the two-time Pro Bowler received credit for his play was in a couple of specific spots.
"Two areas where Prescott has improved during his NFL career are with manipulation, and anticipation," Farrar writes.
An example of that came against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card, which Dallas lost 23-17, Prescott used his eyes to look over defenders just long enough to allow receiver Cedrick Wilson the opportunity to catch a 24-yard pass on a potentially unreachable 2nd-and-25 from the Cowboys' 15-yard line. The play kept Dallas' drive alive, which ended in a Greg Zuerlein 51-yard field goal and chipped into the Niners' lead, 23-10, with 11:58 to play.
Part of what also makes Prescott brilliant is his devotion to the game.
“I’m never not thinking about football," Prescott told reporters at his eponymous ProCamp at The Star on July 9. "So, yeah, physically and I try to put myself in situations where maybe it’s The Bahamas or different ways you can’t get around football. You’re almost forced to relax your mind a little bit and put all of that stuff away.”
The former 2016 fourth-round pick from Mississippi State had a productive 16 games in 2021 despite spending that offseason rehabbing from a broken leg. Prescott set a new franchise record for single-season touchdown passes with 37 and posted a 104.2 passer rating, the second-highest of his career.
With training camp getting underway for Dallas on Wednesday, Prescott spent the entire offseason working on his game and getting leaner, a byproduct of not having to partition any of his preparation for rehabbing from an injury that affects his mobility.
As for the perception and rankings, Baltimore Ravens former league MVP Lamar Jackson ranked one spot ahead of Prescott with newly minted $230.5 million dollar man, Arizona Cardinals signal caller Kyler Murray a spot below. The best quarterback on the list was Kansas City Chiefs signal caller Patrick Mahomes. Prescott was the only NFC East quarterback to make the list.
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