Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott certainly made an impression in the preseason opener starting for an injured Tony Romo in a road game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
Although the Cowboys lost 28-24, the former Mississippi State quarterback had a near flawless performance. He finished 10 of 12 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
He led Dallas to a 24-7 halftime lead.
Prescott’s two incompletions were dropped, while he threw touchdown passes for 10 yards to Dez Bryant and 32 yards to Terrance Williams.
Prescott, a fourth-round pick, signed a four-year deal prior to training camp. It is way too premature to predict how the rest of Prescott’s NFL career will go, but he is certainly off to an auspicious start.
Romo has been a staple as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback since he took over for Drew Bledsoe a little less than halfway into the 2006 regular season. He still needs a good backup for the team to be successful.
Romo has 34,154 career passing yards to go with a 65.3 completion percentage and 97.1 passer rating. He is also one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the NFL and a four-time Pro Bowler.
For all of Romo’s achievements, he is injury-prone. He missed 12 games last season with, first, a broken collarbone and then hairline fracture in his collarbone. The Cowboys were 1-11 in Romo’s absence and 4-12 on the season.
Romo missed the season finale at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 due to a back injury with a playoff berth on the line. The Cowboys lost 24-22 to end their season. He also missed the final 10 games of 2010 with a sprained shoulder, and the Cowboys wound up 6-10.
The Cowboys are clearly Romo’s team. He has earned the right to be the starter when he is healthy.
However, for the Cowboys to make a deep playoff run and not be erratic on the field, they need a good backup quarterback to provide stability.
Prescott is off to a good start in making that happen. He has proven he can win on some of the biggest stages in Division I football.
He set many school records at Mississippi State, including 9,376 career passing yards, a 62.78 completion percentage and 70 touchdown passes. He led the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record as a senior and a 51-28 win against North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl.
I am a little surprised Prescott was not taken sooner in the NFL Draft, but history has shown when you are picked is not very important; what you do with the pick matters most.
Prescott is getting his opportunity, and I suspect he will be a starting quarterback in the NFL in the next few years.
