OXNARD, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys have been in California for just over a week now, after their arrival on Tuesday of last week.
They've only practiced six times in that span, and only twice in full pads. But Wednesday was clearly the best day yet in this training camp for quarterback Dak Prescott.
It has been too often that Prescott's training camp interceptions have been hyped to the extreme. Last year's camp, in particular, got especially out of hand. And even early on in this year's training camp, we've seen the social media discourse run wild with clips of Prescott throwing an interception or two (point of fact, he's now thrown four so far in camp - a number that is, for context, not a large one).
So if Cowboys fans – and league-wide fans – are going to lose their minds over training camp interceptions, it's only fair we give credit where due when he throws training camp touchdowns.
He had nine of them today. Nine.
Prescott looked especially sharp during the 7-on-7 period Tuesday afternoon when he threw five of those touchdown passes. Granted, the Cowboys were working on plays run from closer to the goal line – the line of scrimmage was usually between the 11 and the 18-yard line. But in just nine snaps, he threw five touchdown passes.
He'd throw three more during the Cowboys' redzone work in 11-on-11 team activity. And then he'd finish his day throwing a touchdown pass to Kavontae Turpin on a pretty ball up the seam, to cap off a two-minute drill drive with a touchdown that would have tied the game, given the circumstances Prescott and the offense were working within.
You can watch all nine of Prescott's touchdown passes below.
If you're wondering, yes Prescott did throw an interception in Tuesday's practice. That puts him at four for the entirety of camp. And as you'll see in the below clip, this was a one-on-one scenario, where Israel Mukuamu won the rep against his wide receiver, leading to the interception. This wasn't a bad decision by Prescott – there was no decision to be made.
Conversely, Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance had a tough day. He threw a couple of interceptions, including one to Markquese Bell that was particularly rough. He just didn't see Bell at all, and threw it right to him, as the Cowboys worked in the red zone.
Lance also did bounce back with a nice throw to the sideline, to hit Tyron Billy-Johnson for a big gain. But it's clear that Lance still has work to do in his competition with Cooper Rush for the backup job.
Wednesday will be a slower day – only a mock game, so the players won't be in full pads. Then two more days of fully padded practice on Friday and Saturday before the team's next off day, on Sunday.