Why Dak Prescott needed extra work in Week 17, plus more wild-card observations
By any measure, Dak Prescott is absolutely a starting-caliber NFL quarterback. That hasn’t kept critics from openly pondering whether Prescott is the man who can get the Dallas Cowboys back to the Super Bowl.
One reason for that is that while he’s good to passable in many areas, he’s not great in any one respect. He’s a really good athlete, but he isn’t a dazzling runner like Lamar Jackson. Prescott has a strong arm, but he doesn’t have the howitzer of an Aaron Rodgers. He has some creativity, but he isn’t the magician Patrick Mahomes is. He flashes the ability to throw with accuracy, but he doesn’t have the touch of a Drew Brees. He occasionally throws with anticipation, he isn’t a Tom Brady. And so on, and so on.
There are times when Prescott puts it all together and looks like a top-10 quarterback, and when it happens, you can practically see Cowboys owner Jerry Jones beaming through the screen.
That’s why the first topic in this week’s “Things I Enjoyed” column is …
1. Dak Prescott’s performance against the Giants
If the Cowboys (10-6) are going to defend their home turf and stave off the Seattle Seahawks in their wild-card showdown on Saturday, there’s little doubt they’re going to need their 25-year-old quarterback to build on his strong play against the Giants, when he completed 61 percent of his passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns.
Overall, Prescott has turned it up a notch since the Cowboys acquired receiver Amari Cooper in late October. Prior to the trade, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,417 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games. After the trade, he’s completed 71 percent of his passes for 2,468 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in nine games.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing for the Cowboys is how Prescott has started to show some creativity behind the line of scrimmage, running around and making plays. Check out the following three plays from Sunday’s win over the Giants, capped by a ridiculous game-winning strike to receiver Cole Beasley:
Much was made about the Cowboys’ decision to play Prescott against the Giants (while sitting star running back Ezekiel Elliott), but given the way the Cowboys’ passing game has looked at times this season — stagnant and non-creative — it made sense to let Prescott get another week’s worth of reps with Cooper and continue to build his confidence.
The Giants game also allowed the Cowboys to work on some play-action concepts, which should come in handy this week against a Seahawks defense that is giving up 8.4 yards per play on such plays, which is the sixth-highest mark in football.
Here’s a four-play clip of the Cowboys working on that Sunday:
Prescott isn’t going to mystify the Seahawks by simply running play-action. He has to execute by being accurate, especially on deep balls, which is easier said than done. If Seattle gives him deep shots like this to Cooper, for example, he’s got to hit them:
Prescott is about to enter the fourth and final year of his original rookie deal, which means the Cowboys would be better off paying him now instead of waiting a year (which always ends up costing you more). However, a strong performance by Prescott in these playoffs would likely go a long way toward reinforcing the Cowboys’ belief in a quarterback who needs to show more to solidify himself as Dallas’ no-doubt future at quarterback.
2. The misdirection of the Bears’ offense
One thing that Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy got from his mentor, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, is his occasional reliance on pre- and post-snap concepts that can distract linebackers, giving skill-position players a split-second more to work. Check out the following four-play clip from the Bears’ win over the Vikings, in which Nagy uses a “wham” block — when a tight end blocks a defensive lineman (play No. 1) — a receiver motioning behind the quarterback (play No. 2) and run-pass options (play Nos. 3-4):
The Bears’ upcoming wild-card opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that features a deep and aggressive defensive line. It will be up to Nagy and Co. to keep Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and his players guessing. If they can, Chicago should take advantage of the league’s 30th-ranked pass defense.
3. How the Colts protect Andrew Luck
In today’s NFL, protecting the passer is of the utmost importance, since sacks and QB hits are basically the only means of defense that defenses have left. That said, perhaps it should be no surprise the Colts are 10-6 and in the playoffs because when it comes to protecting their quarterback, the Colts — who have surrendered a league-low 18 sacks — do it remarkably well.
Kudos for that go to new coach Frank Reich, who has designed a quick-hitting scheme that prevents the franchise’s crown jewel, quarterback Andrew Luck, from getting touched much. Credit also has to go to the offensive line, which keeps Luck clean with a vengeance. That was evident in the Colts’ do-or-die Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans, in which Luck — who went 24-of-35 for 285 yards, three touchdowns and an interception — was sacked only once and hit twice.
Here’s a fun, seven-clip montage of the Colts’ offensive line and running backs picking up all sort of blitzes from the Titans, even from linebackers or defensive backs:
The Colts will need to block like this in their wild-card game on Saturday against Houston, a team that ranks 11th in sacks. These two AFC South rivals split the season series 1-1, and both games were decided by a combined six points. The Texans can turn up the heat at home — especially when they get a lead — so it will be on this line to hang in there and protect Luck in the fire.
4. Philip Rivers, getting it out quickly
The Los Angeles Chargers should have learned a good deal in their Week 16 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, especially as it pertains to how they should go about preparing for their rematch against the Ravens in the wild-card round on Sunday. In the same vein, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the No. 1 objective for the Chargers this week is to do a hell of a lot better job protecting quarterback Philip Rivers than they did the first time around.
In that game, the Ravens turned up the heat on non-mobile Rivers, sacking him four times and hitting him eight total. Rivers completed 23 of 37 passes, but he threw for only 181 yards and tossed two interceptions. So this time around, perhaps the Chargers will do a better job of getting the ball to their excellent quartet of receivers — Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin — much, much quicker.
In the Chargers’ 23-9 win over the Broncos in Week 17, we saw a lot of quick, three-step passes from Rivers out of the shotgun. Check out these six plays below:
The Ravens boast the league’s best defense — ranking fourth vs. the run and fifth vs. the pass — so moving the ball against them will be difficult, no matter what. But if the Chargers stay committed to the run game and get the ball out of Rivers’ hand quickly, Los Angeles has a good chance of being in the game until the end, especially with a rookie quarterback (Lamar Jackson) on the other side of the ball.
5. How a rising Josh Allen lifts all boats
About a month ago, I wrote about how Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is changing some skeptical minds. That narrative has seemed to catch on since then, as Allen has continued to show off his athleticism, arm strength and playmaking ability over the past six weeks, culminating in a scintillating performance against Miami on Sunday that netted him the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week award.
Allen lit the Dolphins up in the Bills’ 42-17 win, completing 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while also rushing nine times for 95 yards and two scores. At times, the 6-foot-5, 237-pounder looked like the best player on the field, one who stands to get only better (given his rawness as a passer). So for all the criticism the Bills took for selecting Allen seventh overall in the 2018 NFL draft despite his inconsistent college tape, it appears Buffalo made the right move.
One overlooked aspect of this is how the Bills have managed to maximize his strengths — a rare combination of size, athleticism and arm strength — all while generally minimizing his weaknesses (reading the field and throwing with accuracy). And that’s where offensive coordinator Brian Daboll comes in.
The Bills finished 2018 ranked 31st in passing offense and 30th in passing offense, but those numbers don’t really reflect the growth Buffalo showed under Allen late in the season. In his final six starts, the Bills — who finished 6-10 — went 3-3 as Allen completed 52 percent of his passes for 1,242 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interception, all while adding 476 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
What’s more, the Bills’ offense — which could use some reinforcements at various positions this offseason, by the way — averaged 348 total yards per game, which would have ranked 20th over the course of an entire season, all while surrendering only seven sacks during that timeframe. Not too bad considering where they started the season — losing to Baltimore 47-3 with the likes of Nathan Peterman under center — and much of that can be attributed to the boot-heavy, play-action-rampant scheme Daboll has relied upon since Allen returned from an elbow injury in late November, all with the goal of freezing defenders to create windows for Allen to throw to.
Check out these four plays below from the Bills’ win over Miami, for example:
Allen has also shown a knack for hurting teams with his legs on play-action:
And Sunday, Daboll also called lots of quick-hitting passing plays that let him show off his arm strength:
In short, Daboll and Bills quarterbacks coach David Culley have done a nice job with Allen this season. Few quarterbacks were as criticized as Allen was during the pre-draft process, but he show flashes of a potential franchise quarterback. That’s not saying it will happen, as Allen threw only 10 touchdowns and completed 52 percent of his passes in 11 starts this season. But if the 22-year-old improves upon those numbers under Daboll in 2019, I could see the Bills’ offensive coordinator — who has a reputation for being detailed — emerge as a popular head coaching candidate with a load of interviews, not unlike current Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has this year.
THINGS I ENJOYED ARCHIVE
WEEK 16: Here’s why Jadeveon Clowney is going to make a lot of money this offseason
WEEK 15: Colts proved they can protect Andrew Luck and plow way toward playoffs
WEEK 14: No-looks and sidearms — 7 more throws from Patrick Mahomes you missed
WEEK 13: Here’s what Seahawks have to do if they want Russell Wilson to keep rolling
WEEK 12: Bills QB Josh Allen is changing some skeptical minds
WEEK 11: Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Chiefs-Rams gave us glorious forecast of the future
WEEK 10: This is why Rams’ Todd Gurley is mentioned in MVP talk
WEEK 9: Here’s how Dez Bryant can make Saints scarier
WEEK 8: How Golden Tate, 3 others dealt at NFL trade deadline can impact their teams
WEEK 7: These Amari Cooper plays can help Dak Prescott, Cowboys soar
WEEK 6: Flying to the football, Steelers’ nasty blocking & Matt Nagy channeling Andy Reid
WEEK 5: A Tale of two Cams (Newton and Erving)
WEEK 4: The juice of Patriots RB Sony Michel and lineman who slowed down Von Miller
WEEK 3: Mahomes magic and Lane Johnson’s acting chops
WEEK 2: Dallas’ deep ball, and the ridiculousness of Mahomes and Saquon
WEEK 1: Andy Reid’s goal-line circus and more
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