Dak Prescott does well in his NFL Debut
Dak Prescott made his NFL debut Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys.
In week one of the NFL regular season Dak made his first real start against none other than Eli Manning and the New York Gaints. The Prescott-Manning matchup is basically a dream come true for Mississippi college football fans. As the best players for MSU and Ole Miss in this generation, these two have had their college careers compared endlessly. Now here they are going head to head in the NFL.
As Bulldog fans have come to expect, Dak rose to the occasion and was good in his debut. He looked poised from the get-go, leading Dallas on a nice drive to start the game that ended in a field goal. Prescott would lead two more scoring drives in the first half, both ending in field goals. Much of the same in the second half as Dak was good but the Cowboys only managed one rushing touchdown.
Dak and the Cowboys would get the ball back with 1:05 remaining in the game down 20-19. Prescott led a drive that got the team in position for a long but makeable field goal attempt but his receiver failed to get out of bounds allowing the clock to run out. His final stat line was 25-45 for 227 yards. He did not throw a TD but didn’t turn the ball over either. Prescott had a touchdown pass over-turned in the first half as review showed Dez Byrant didn’t control the ball as he fell.
Overall Cowboys’ fans should be happy with their new starting quarterback. Dak showed that he is, at least, serviceable as an NFL QB as a rookie. He should only get better from here. The best part is the moment didn’t seem too big for Dak. All eyes were on him from Dallas to Starkville to New York City and he didn’t seem to notice. I think it’s entirely possible that Dak will have this team in playoff contention when/if Tony Romo returns. Like we know know all too well as Bulldog fans, if you got your team on Dak Prescott’s shoulders good things tend to happen.
How he got to this point:
Dak became the first Mississippi State player to start a NFL game at QB since 1979. He became the lowest NFL draft pick to start Week 1 since 1977.
Related Story: History of Rookie NFL Quarterbacks starting Week 1
The NFL preseason was a wild ride for former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott. After being drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys, Prescott was thought to be a project player who could potentially take over for Tony Romo in a few years. Due to backup quarterback, Kellen Moore, suffering a broken leg in early August Dak was called upon to start his first preseason game. Prescott went 10-12 for 139 yards and a touchdown in one half of play.
Prescott would come off the bench in the second preseason game and go 12-15 for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He added two touchdowns on the ground in route to a victory. In the ultimate twist of fate, veteran QB Tony Romo injured his back three plays into the third preseason game. All of a sudden Dak had gone from third string project to potential starter in three weeks. With a final stat line of 39-50 for 454 yards with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in parts of three games, Prescott would be named the week one starter. When it was announced Romo would be out 6-10 weeks, the Cowboys signed QB Mark Sanchez but this was Dak’s job to lose.