The Cowboys rode their 11-game win streak into New Jersey on Sunday night to take on the Giants, and things did not go so well for the best team in the NFC. Specifically, things went bad for Dak Prescott in the 10-7 loss. The rookie quarterback completed just 46 percent of his attempts for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also doubled his season interception total by throwing two passes to the wrong team.
So with a healthy Tony Romo on the bench, it’s natural that fans are going to start calling for the more experienced signal-caller to lead Dallas down the stretch and into the playoffs. But after the game, Jerry Jones and Jason Garret emphatically squashed any of that talk:
“No,” Garrett said “we feel good about Dak playing quarterback for us.” […] “We feel good about where Dak is right now with our football team.”
[…]
Owner Jerry Jones was even more definitive when asked about bringing Romo off the bench in relief of Prescott.
“No. No. No. No,” Jones said. “Not at all. Let me just say that.”
“First of all he’s got 13 NFL ball games at a high level under his belt,” Jones said. “What’s he got four interceptions now? Is it four? OK, so he’s got four interceptions in 13 ball games. I feel good about our quarterback, and I like what we are at the quarterback position as well. We should have asked and wanted him to make the drive that might have won this thing for us tonight. We were within striking distance. I don’t want to make excuses. Most of what happened to us offensively tonight was a well coached NYG defense more than a failing of a player or players.”
There’s certainly a case to be made for the benefits of bringing in Romo, but making that decision based on one poor performance on the road in bad weather conditions against a very good defense would be a bit premature. And when you consider the context of Prescott’s two interceptions — one when his receiver slipped and fell down, the other on a 3rd and 15 armpunt — they don’t look quite as awful.
Of course this could all change if Prescott continues to show signs of the rookie he is and Dallas drops a couple more before the end of the regular season.
(Via Star-Telegram)
