The question here was always going to be about mistakes.
Whenever a rookie is thrust into the blinding spotlight that is a quarterback job in the NFL, the question is always about mistakes. How safely should he play in an attempt to avoid them? How will he bounce back from a particularly bad one? Will they become a habit? Will he break that habit?
Mistakes are a matter of course for a line of work in which you’re expected to make complex decisions in tenths of a second with potential compound fractures in the form of 300-plus pounds of lineman bearing down on you. You read, you react and, often, you hope.
So the question was always going to be about mistakes when Dak Prescott took over as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But that question was not supposed to be: What happens if he simply doesn’t make any?
That’s a bit of hyperbole of course, as Prescott admitted to the media after his Cowboys beat the Bengals on Sunday: “Some good fortune goes into that… There have been some passes that have been tipped or been in the defender’s hand with a shot to intercept it.”
Still, a bad pass that doesn’t go the other way is not, strictly speaking, a mistake. And heading into Sunday’s game, since taking over for the injured Tony Romo, the Cowboys’ newest leading man was chasing Tom Brady’s record for most passes without an interception to start an NFL career. So was impressive Philadelphia Eagles rookie Carson Wentz. But when the dust cleared Sunday night, Prescott was still chasing that mark—now just six completions behind Brady. Wentz wasn’t. And the Cowboys were 4-1.
When Romo returns he is still the starting quarterback in Dallas, according to team owner Jerry Jones. But Cowboys fans have not been shy about saying Prescott is the better choice.
And in an NFL season that has thus far suffered from falling ratings and a lack of buzz, a quarterback controversy in Dallas might be just the thing to ratchet up the intrigue.
Leave aside for a second the relative on-field difference between Romo and Prescott: one is an adept, experienced pocket passer; the other a younger, more athletic option who shows every sign of eventually maturing into just as adroit a reader of defences as his predecessor. But it’s the message that benching Prescott would send that should force Jones into changing his mind about his starting QB. And it’s the potential sizzle of a storyline as old as the pro game itself—will the new guy steal the aging star’s job?—that should have the NFL praying Jones plays along.
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Either way, this is a luxury for Dallas. In a league where bottom-feeders like the Browns can play five men at quarterback over five games, and even playoff teams like Denver, Houston and Minnesota have to overpay or simply hope for the best just to get one adequate option, this sort of choice is the envy of the NFL.
But for Cowboys fans who have had their hopes raised and dashed repeatedly through the Romo era, letting Prescott run with the ball—literally, since that’s something Romo simply cannot do—may have to be the answer. The offensive line, long a strength in Dallas, has been playing even better than in years past, and a not-insignificant part of that is a quarterback who can elude pressure on his own on the rare occasions it is necessary. At running back, Ezekiel Elliott is benefiting from the added dimension Prescott brings and has been improving by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis.
And with Dez Bryant sidelined, Prescott has been spreading the ball around, not by taking big shots at splash plays—that’s how those mistakes happen, after all—but by using the time his line is buying him to find sure-handed possession receivers like Jason Witten and Cole Beasley, then mixing in mid-level throws to Brice Butler and Terrance Williams. Nothing flashy, in short, but exactly what a Cowboys team that is operating at peak efficiency needs to be successful.
So what happens next?
Next, the Cowboys go to Lambeau Field this week in what will be their toughest test of the season. Then they have their bye in Week 7, after which Romo will possibly be healthy enough to return.
If the Cowboys win in Green Bay and go into the bye 5-1 and in charge of the NFC East, they’d be foolish to do anything but let Prescott have an additional week of first-team practice reps and then the start against… well, what do you know? It’s the Eagles, who traded away their veteran to give their rookie quarterback the keys to the franchise; the Eagles, who will clearly be the Cowboys’ biggest adversary in the division; the Eagles, whose fans have cheered injuries to Cowboys starters in the past.
And all those fans who have gone missing from NFL TV ratings so far this year would have a hard time saying no to a prime-time showdown between two fierce rivals starting the two best rookie quarterbacks to come along in 2016… unless of course Jerry Jones spoils the party.