EXCLUSIVE: Dak Prescott's awful form could hand Buccaneers win vs. Cowboys, claims NFL insider
The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott will play this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoping to progress to the next round of the NFL playoffs. In theory, the Cowboys should be overwhelming favorites.
The Cowboys finished with a 12-5 season, whereas the only reason the Buccaneers are in the playoffs is because of a weak NFC South. With a 8-9 losing record, they would not have made it to the playoffs if they were playing in any other division.
However, it is the playoffs and anything can happen in a one-off game. The problem is compounded when one looks at the quarterback situation. Dallas has Dak Prescott, who was the league leader in interceptions this season. Tampa Bay has Tom Brady, whose ability to navigate the playoffs is legendary.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda's "The BallFather podcast", NFL insider T.J. Rives also confirmed that it feels the same way in Tampa.
"You go back to that Washington game again a week ago where they were awful in the first half of that game, he was rattled for whatever reason by the Washington pass rush throwing bad passes. Can the Bucs front seven rattle Dak Prescott maybe even into an early turnover or two? Prescott ended up tied for the NFL in interceptions. And by the way, he became the first quarterback negative stat here."
He highlighted Dak Prescott's awful performance in their last game against the Washington Commanders specifically and continued how badly he has played late in the season, in general. That he leads the interception stats despite missing five games this season could be a serious problem.
"... Prescott became the first quarterback in the history of the NFL's since the schedule expanded to 16 or 17 games to have 17 or more interceptions in a season where you missed at least five games. He missed five games, he threw 17 picks and a lot of them late in the year. So does Dak Prescott turn the ball over? That is enormous. And I think the bigger thing for the Buccaneers is play a clean game. If they are not turning the ball over, if they are not committing penalties to help the Cowboys out, they have a great chance to win, a great chance to win this game and move on."
Dak Prescott's record compared to Tom Brady's in the playoffs
Not only is current form worrying for the Dallas Cowboys, but Dak Prescott's playoff history is nothing to crow about. He is 1-3 in playoff games with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Playoff records of NFC QBs
W-L
Tom Brady 35-12
Kirk Cousins 1-2
Dak Prescott 1-3
Jalen Hurts 0-1
Brock Purdy 0-0
Daniel Jones 0-0
Geno Smith 0-0 https://t.co/xLoWumvLbB
Tom Brady, on the other hand, is 35-12 with 86 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. Prescott's demons were always there, but his recent form might bring them out once again in the playoffs.