Dak Prescott 'Can Hurt You' With His Legs, Says Coach; Should Dallas Cowboys QB Run More?
For those of you who had been campaigning for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to run more, we should be hearing you shouting celebration from the rafters after the 20-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Prescott looked like the 2018 version of himself as he had seven carries for 40 yards and the Cowboys' opening touchdown on a read-option play on 4th-and-1.
Dak pulled the ball from Pollard stomach as the defenders over-pursued, put his foot on the gas, and never looked back as he raced in for an 18-yard score.
"Great play call, honestly," Prescott said. "Not showing my legs early in the year, not running, played a part in that. I just had to go get it."
With the Cowboys receivers besides CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks struggling to get consistent separation, Prescott was often forced to make things up on the fly, which resulted in good things happening.
On Tony Pollard's 60-yard catch, Prescott was pressured in the pocket before showing the nimble agility we were accustomed to seeing from him in his early days to buy time before he found Pollard on a short pass, which turned into a monster gain.
Dak Prescott's ability to scramble against the Los Angeles Chargers was on show Monday night.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dak's seven rushing attempts weren't part of the game plan, but rather a result of how the game was playing out.
"I'd say it's how the game unfolded," Prescott said of his running ability against the Chargers. "It was a little bit of a conscious effort by [me], coming off of last week and realizing it's something we could use and, obviously, those guys had some great coverage. … But [our] guys did a great job of coming open and staying alive, the offensive line was keeping their bodies on someone and giving me a chance to get out in different lanes. It's just kind of how it played [out], but I think it's something that can benefit us."
Prescott's ability to scramble has always been an underrated weapon when used in the right spots, but we have seen fewer and fewer examples of it over the last few seasons.
In Dak's first four seasons, his lowest rushing total was 277 for the year. But since 2019, his highest return has been 182 last season. Part of that could be what happened at AT&T Stadium on that fateful day against the New York Giants, when his nasty season-ending ankle injury may have impacted him going forward physically and otherwise.
Said Cowboys coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Dak running more Monday night: “We’re very selective with it. Nobody wants to have the quarterback have to carry it a ton, but he has the ability to hurt people with his legs, and he’s done that historically. We’re not back to the Mississippi State days in terms of all the carries that he’s used to, but it’s good to show that we have the capability of doing that.''
Indeed, there can be no mistake that Prescott's legs could be a valuable weapon going forward. It would be a shame not to use it. ... to "hurt people'' with the QB as a runner.
