Dak Prescott had a hell of a game on Monday night in the dispatching of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but make no mistake, that has not been nor will be the norm.
Prescott has been the model of inconsistency in his career, including the playoffs, and now they’re going on the road to face the most consistent team the league has to offer in the San Francisco 49ers.
Even with rookie quarterback Brock Purdy — who is balling by the way — the 49ers have more pieces than a big ass puzzle.
But it all goes back to me not trusting Dak.
After the Cowboys loss to the Jags, he was the league leader in interception percentage while playing in way less games than pretty much everyone else.
Listen, Dak had a great game against the Bucs: He threw for 305 yards, was 25 of 33 for a 76% completion rate, averaged over nine yards per completion and had one rushing touchdown.
The last time he threw for over 300 yards was at home against the Eagles.
But all that was accomplished against a dysfunctional team with Tom Brady on his way out and coach Todd Bowles most likely on his way out as well.
From a purely analytical perspective, I don’t trust Dak to have a similar performance against the 49ers the same game as he did against the Bucs.
Coming off his best games, Dak tends to turn the ball over in follow up games — at least twice.
Also Dak has what I call the Carson Wentz syndrome — when it goes bad, it doesn’t just go bad, it goes “five alarm fire” bad. Dak doesn’t just make mistakes, he makes catastrophic mistakes and we have seen it in crucial moments down the stretch.
He still has never made it past the divisional round and is 2-3 in the playoffs, and even though he was efficient and effective against the Bucs, I don’t trust him against a team that isn’t dysfunctional.
But the Cowboys have a great defense, you say. Yes, but it’s not yet at the level of the Ray Lewis Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl winning defense. That defense made Trent Dilfer look good. And the Cowboys certainly don’t have a defense at the same level as the 49ers.
I like Dak Prescott. I like the way he handles his business. He’s the ultimate professional and you don’t hear about a lot of off-field drama. I just don’t see four great back-to-back quarters coming from Dak.
The Cowboys have a good defense and they have the pieces on offense around the quarterback, but in my opinion — and it’s nothing personal — they just don’t have a championship quarterback.
The San Francisco 49ers, on the other hand, are the most balanced team playing with the best personnel.
Jake Crain is co-host of “Crain & Company.” the Daily Wire’s sports show hosted by former athletes and coaches Jake Crain, Blain Crain, and David Cone. Follow him on Twitter: @JakeCrain_
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.