Cowboys Dak Prescott Ranks at Bottom of Playoff QBs, Says ESPN's Dan Orlovsky

According to ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ranks only ahead of late-round rookies Brock Purdy and Skylar Thompson.

FRISCO - We think a couple of things have pretty much been established when it comes to much of the national media assessments of Dak Prescott.

One, if he leads the NFL in interceptions (which he did, with 15), the critics are going to pile on, maybe understandably milking the failures for ratings success.

Two, Prescott might have to win multiple Super Bowls for some of the more infamous of his critics to get off his back.

Speaking of whom ...

According to ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, Cowboys quarterback Prescott ranks 12th among the 14 starting signal-callers in these players.

That's 12th out of 14 ... with a list that positions Dak ahead of only late-round rookie emergency starters Brock Purdy of the Niners and Skylar Thompson of the Dolphins.

We're well beyond arguing about this sort of silliness; Prescott's recent work has at the very least created a "recency bias'' against him, and his league-leading 15 interceptions (in just 12 games) is worthy of sober criticism.

The Cowboys insist the turnovers are something short of a "trend,'' and they certainly hope so, with the Monday night playoff opener at Tampa on the horizon.

Said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: "I'll take Dak against anybody you wanna run out there."

Added coach Mike McCarthy: "You're much better prepared through your failures than your successes.''

Dak Prescott ranks No. 12 on @danorlovsky7's QB power rankings 👀 pic.twitter.com/tJ5dtEit0Q

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 12, 2023

But in a sense, that is a different issue than the "ranking'' issue. Because of ESPN's constant creation of "controversy'' regarding "America's Team'' (Bristol has, for instance, essentially started a "Jerry is Lying!'' campaign mapping out the coming firing of coach Mike McCarthy), it's impossible to diagnose whether Orlovsky is ranking Dak just above "The Skylar Thompson Line'' because the analyst, as a former NFL QB, truly sees Prescott as "broken,'' or ...

Whether Orlovsky is "doing a bit.''

Conventional wisdom suggests that Prescott "can prove his doubters wrong'' with a Round 1 win at the Buccaneers on Monday night. But there is plenty of TV evidence that suggests that lessening of criticism in the event of a win will last but a few hours before ESPN and its ilk turns its attention to predictions of Dak's demise in Round 2 of the playoffs.

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