'Dead Spot!' Dak Admits Cowboys Failures, Talks on 'The Narratives'

'Dead Spot!' Dak Prescott Admits Dallas Cowboys Failures, Talks on 'The Narratives'

FRISCO - It's an NFL catchphrase now, and a popular one. It's used - by the Dallas Cowboys and most everybody else - as a method to cool the heat, to deflect even fair criticism, and in a way, to fool oneself.

It's "The Narrative.'' And Dak Prescott's Cowboys may be at a crossroad as they try to separate the "deflection'' from the details.

"It's frustrating," said Prescott of his team's 22-20 nail-biting loss on Christmas Eve in Miami - and of the fact that the defeat means Dallas is just 3-5 on the road this year. "This is one that's on everybody and it sucks, but we definitely took a step over last week's game (a 31-10 pounding at Bufffalo) in getting some points. 

"We played a hell of a team here on the road, and we'll have to build off of it. We'll have to use the good and make sure we get better from the things that weren't up to standard."

"Use the good'' sounds viable, because there was "good'' here even as the playoff-bound Cowboys drop to 10-5. But ignoring the bad - the crushing penalties in crucial moments, the offensive "dead spot'' (Dak's words) that spanned the second and third quarters, and ultimately, a last-minute game-winning field-goal drive allowed to the Dolphins - isn't the way to go.

Somebody asked Prescott about "the narrative'' that states that the Cowboys can't defeat good teams on the road, and that therefore they will logically have a difficult time winning on the playoffs.

"I guess it feeds (the narrative), we didn't come out with the win," said Prescott. "But I can tell you the confidence is high with this group. It sucks. It hurts ... Obviously, we haven't done it but we will. And it looks like we'll be going on the road (in the playoffs).

"It's about moving forward and understanding what's ahead of us" Prescott said.

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Sounds good. But let's be clear here: The Cowboys' road woes are not about "a narrative.'' It is fact - "strange but true,'' as CeeDee Lamb sharply termed it. Calling it "a narrative'' can make it sounds like an unfair rip manufactured by the media.

Dak knows all of this, by the way, as demonstrated by his uncharacteristic willingness to jump ahead in the schedule. The Cowboys play postseason-bound Detroit next Saturday at AT&T Stadium. And then they close the regular season at hapless Washington ... and yes, here is Prescott, already hoping to use the Commanders as a psychological stepping stone.

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After acknowledging the Lions as a "great team,'' Dak skipped ahead.

"We've got to out to Washington and get that win," said Prescott. "And that'll be the one that starts the streak."