DALLAS — Troy Aikman gets to take a look at his old team for the second time in the 2022 season.
The Dallas Cowboys play their Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football with Joe Buck and Aikman calling the action. Assessing the Cowboys' performance in Week 18 at Washington, Aikman saw issues under center.
"I see at least last week, I see a quarterback that was not playing with a great deal of confidence and I think that would be a bit of a concern going into this game," Aikman told "The Musers" on 1310 "The Ticket" [KTCK-AM] Thursday. "Can he get that back? And I think the key to it will be: how did he start the game?"
Prescott went 14-of-37 for 128 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a 45.8 passer rating in the 26-6 loss. Aikman believes a way to help Prescott get his confidence back in the wild-card playoffs at Tampa Bay would be for offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to schedule "some easy completions" early in the game plan.
"In a game, as a quarterback, you go into a game and things initially are happening really fast, is my experience," said Aikman. "Sometimes not, but for the most part, you begin a game and the pass rush is moving fast, the secondary, all your looks, and then at some point, at least for me, I would hang in there and know that at some point the game is going to slow down.
"And this was true for me in playoff games, Super Bowls, and regular season games. And the bigger the game, the more energy there is on the field and in the stands and everything else, especially on the road and it takes a little bit longer for that to slow down. But you just hang in there and know and trust it’s going to slow down."
The three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame quarterback, who played for Dallas from 1989-2000, noted that the protection was fine and there were completions to be had, but Prescott's eyes never saw them. Nevertheless he thinks the two-time Pro Bowler will be able to have a better outing against the Buccaneers.
"It’s just since it happened in Week 18, people are talking a lot about it," Aikman said.
The Cowboys have not won a road playoff game since the 1992 NFC Championship Game, and they are 0-7 all-time against Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
Do you think Dak Prescott will play mistake-free football during the Wild Card game on Monday? Share your predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
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