'Must-Win!' How Dak Prescott Ran Dallas Cowboys to 20-17 Victory at Los Angeles Chargers

'Must-Win!' How Dak Prescott Ran Dallas Cowboys to 20-17 Victory at Los Angeles Chargers

The Dallas Cowboys endured plenty of criticism following their embarrassing 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and no one player may have received more backlash than quarterback Dak Prescott. ... And while the harsh criticism and pure "sports hate'' may never go away for the Cowboys signal-caller, the detractors will find it hard to critique Prescott following Monday's 20-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. 

On a night where the Cowboys run game was ineffective, yielding 96 yards on 26 attempts, aided by 40 yards on seven scrambles from Prescott, the offense was in dire need of Dak, the playmaker. ... as a thrower and a runner.

Dak on the run / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“Realizing that’s maybe something we could use,” Dak said. “Mike (coach McCarthy) is always preaching about (extending plays after the initial 2.3 seconds). ... The offensive line keeping their bodies on someone, giving me a chance to get out in different lanes.”

Whether those plays came from Prescott's legs, like the read option keeper that he took 18 yards for a touchdown, or his evasiveness in the pocket to avoid oncoming pressure that helped create the 60-yard completion to Tony Pollard, he did it all.

Dak Prescott is single-handedly keeping the Cowboys offense alive right now, what a play from him and finish from Pollard

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/9jHvYr8q3e

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 17, 2023

A big critique of Prescott in recent years has been his perceived inability to play "off-script," which is a play where no receiver is open or the pass rush is closing in on him, forcing him to buy more time before throwing or getting out of the pocket to scramble. This criticism often ended with the claim of Prescott being a pure "pocket-passer" or "distributor" rather than a playmaker like Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson.

Oct 16, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) carries the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at SoFi Stadium.  / © Kirby Lee, USA TODAY

Yet, Monday painted a different picture of Prescott, as he led the Cowboys in rushing for only the third game of his career. The last time came in a similar game in January of 2021 versus the Arizona Cardinals, where the Cowboys' ground game yielded 45 yards, with Prescott leading the way with 20 yards rushing.

However, unlike the prior two times that Prescott was the team's leading rusher, the Cowboys managed to pull out the victory, as he helped engineer the 20th game-winning drive of his career, driving 54 yards in 14 plays before Brandon Aubrey's 39-yard field goal.

Prescott completed 21 of his 30 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown while adding another 40 yards and a score with his legs, helping the Cowboys beat their former offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, and the Chargers.

Was this a "must-win''?

“(Shoot), yeah,” Prescott said. “I mean, it’s early in the season, but 4-2 or 3-3, it’s a huge difference.”