Don’t tell Dak Prescott the Dallas Cowboys are taking a step back in 2022. The Cowboys have lost a few key players this offseason from the league’s top-ranked offense as the NFC East appears to be catching up with them.
Of course, the NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2004. Perhaps all of those factors are reason to be skeptical of the Cowboys this year, but Prescott — the engine driving the offense forward — embraces a different approach.
“Very, very optimistic,” Prescott said on the Peter King podcast this week. “Because of the team we had last year and because of what we went through, the way we handled it, I think we’re in a better position this year than we were. last year. And I know some guys left and some guys left and went to other teams, but that’s the nature of this business.”
The Cowboys won the NFC East convincingly at 12-5, but fell in the NFC Wild Card round despite having the league’s top-ranked offense. Dallas also led the NFL in total yards and ranked in the top 10 in six major passing and rushing categories.
The offense has seen significant changes, starting with the trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper and the departures of offensive linemen La’el Collins and Connor McGovern in free agency. There’s also the decline of Ezekiel Elliott, who has seen his rushing yards per game drop every season since entering the league.
Dallas still has Prescott, who is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Returning from a horrific ankle injury in 2021, Prescott had a career-high 410 passes on 596 attempts for 4,449 yards (fourth in team history) and a franchise-record 37 touchdowns. He threw just 10 interceptions and was tied for third in the NFL with a 104.2 rating (behind only Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow). He had a passer rating of over 100.0 in 10 games played and was the seventh quarterback in NFL history with eight games with a passer rating of over 100 and three touchdowns. pass in one season.
Even with the Philadelphia Eagles lurking with a talented roster, Prescott believes the Cowboys have the pieces in place to go further into the playoffs this year.
“What we’ve built here, the core, the leaders, mixed in with a great group of young guys who are hungry to make a name for themselves and get into this league,” Prescott said. “I feel very, very confident about where we are and excited about where we are and I’m just ready to keep building and pushing this project forward.”
