ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas Cowboys four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott has eclipsed predecessor Tony Romo in numerous all-time franchise pass records, and now he’s done it again in Dallas’ 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Prescott’s fourth passing touchdown of the day against the Washington Commanders in Week 2, his second to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, now pushes him past Romo atop the Cowboys’ all-time passing touchdowns leaderboard with 249 and counting. He hit this milestone in 15 fewer career games than Romo. Not too shabby for a former fourth-round pick who was initially set to be the Cowboys’ third quarterback in 2016 before injuries to Romo and then-backup Kellen Moore occurred in the preseason. Prescott finished with four passing touchdowns to go along with 279 yards on 26 of 31 passing. Lamb hauled in his first and last passing touchdown of the day to finish with 153 yards receiving and 8 catches on 9 targets while tight end Jake Ferguson caught the two in the middle to end up with 43 yards receiving while catching all 4 of his targets.
“I’m blessed, honored. As I’ve told you earlier in the week, records are meant to be broken. It’s my time to break this one,” Prescott said postgame on Sunday. “Pretty cool to do it against the team that I threw my first touchdown against, 10 years ago or so. So definitely humbling, something I don’t take for granted. The great history of this organization, of the past quarterbacks before me, obviously wearing to me the greatest one. And so super, super honored, super thankful. God’s great. I’m not taking it lightly, but as I told y’all, it’s just the beginning. I want to double it. I plan to play for a while so I’m just getting started.”
It was appropriate Lamb caught the record-breaking touchdown pass for Prescott on a contested, 50-50 ball in the corner of the end zone since the now-37 receiving touchdowns they’ve connected for are the most of any duo in Prescott’s career.
“Yeah, it was definitely fitting, and it wasn’t a great ball. I just saw him one-on-one. I put it out there like, ‘CD, please just get this over with.’ And he did,” Prescott said. “And then I heard the crowd. I’m like, ‘did he catch it? Did he not? And then when he’s running down the end zone, I’m like, ‘Thank God. Yeah, this is over.’ We can just move on and just play ball now. Definitely fitting. That guy, he’s been amazing. And as I just said, we’re just getting started. He’s just getting started. He’s a hell of a player. We started off these first two games with two touchdowns, and he’s had one touchdown in each game. I don’t think it’s going to stop. Just his mindset, his mentality, just where he is in life. It’s only going to get better and I’m excited for it.”
“I’m just happy for him. No one is more deserving of that achievement than he is,” Lamb said postgame. “I know we have many more to go.”
Record relationships
Prescott entered Sunday already No. 1 in team history in completion percentage (66.9%), passing yards (36,164) and passer rating (98.2) — all records he took the crown from Romo to vault to the top of the list. The record holder in a few of these before Romo was Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. Statistically, Prescott is now cemented among those two and Hall of Famer Roger Staubach in Cowboys history. He still believes Staubach is the best QB in Cowboys history, which is why Prescott wore his jersey into and out of AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
“Yeah, we were talking about it throughout the week. Yeah, he’s just on my mind and home opener, knew that this was an opportunity to break this record and just felt right. Just felt right,” Prescott said. “As I said, he’s the standard. He was the first great one here and I think he still is. And as we know, I was schooling up Q [Quinnen Williams] on the history of him to win the Heisman, to go serve for our country and then to come back, win two Super Bowls, be the man that he is, be as great as he is off the field, do so much for the community. He’s the epitome of what a Dallas Cowboys quarterback should be and he’s who I’m chasing. And so I’m thankful for the relationship that we do have and yeah, just wanted to support him.”
Prescott achieving this record 11 seasons into his NFL career also stands as a marker of the relationships he’s built. Retired three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Dez Bryant was in the locker room postgame wearing a No. 4 Prescott jersey as were two of Prescott’s offensive retired linemen from his early days: 2010’s All-Decade team left tackle Tyron Smith and La’el Collins.
“Yeah. I mean, I just dapped him [Bryant] off right before I walked in here, and he’s screaming at CeeDee who was getting interviewed. And I was just like, [that’s] the 88’s. Yeah, it’s awesome. I’m blessed,” Prescott said. “Obviously, as I said in the locker room, I told the guys I wouldn’t be in this position without so many of my teammates. … Super thankful for who Dez was or who he is: the older veteran he was when I came into the locker room. First guy that ever greeted me, walking into the locker room, one of the biggest supporters of young guys, gave me so much confidence. And then now to be pouring that into CeeDee. CeeDee tells me right after the game, running off the field, ‘nobody’s more deserving.’ I’m just super blessed for having those guys, but it’s not just on the field, it’s off the field and that personal relationship.”
Prescott’s relationship with Ferguson, whose 16 receiving touchdowns he’s caught from the Cowboys quarterbacks rank as tied for the third-most by any duo, extends beyond the football field. Ferguson’s stepfather died during Dallas’ training camp this year, and Prescott made sure to step out of a meeting to be there one-on-one for his grieving tight end.
“Yeah, it [the record] means the world to me. It’s pretty special. How he carries himself. How he treats people. I’m not talking about the football player, I’m talking about the man,” Ferguson said. “The father he is. … He’s a role model for me. He’s been there for some hard stuff for me. I lost my stepfather in [training] camp. He was there for me through the whole time. Pulled out of a meeting to come talk to me. That really kept me together. He means a ton to me, and he means a ton to this team. Pretty special.”
That’s what Prescott aims to remember when his football career ends: the moments with teammates, the high’s and low’s and all the time spent together.
“Yeah, they [his teammates] make up more than the records. This world’s about people, man. This life’s about people. It’s about loving and pouring into people and being there for somebody and giving them what you can through your own experiences, being a helping hand,” Prescott said. … “When he [Ferguson] lost his father in camp, I knew where he was. I’ve been in that position [losing his mother] and just wanting to be there for him and check on him and let him know that ‘whatever you’re feeling is okay. You’re mad, pissed, whatever’. And he handled it as good as anybody can, losing a stepfather and being there for his mom and for his family and being a rock. And I just wanted to be a little help if I could. And so just for him to even pivot talking about a record to that, it just goes back to me just saying that all these little things matter.”
So what does Prescott hope to leave as his lasting memory as a Cowboys as the now-record holder of every major passing statistic? He doesn’t really care. Prescott just wants to soak up every second en route to his stated goal of 500-plus passing touchdowns while playing into his 40s.
“I really don’t think about that. I don’t. It’s not that I don’t care, but for me it’s about being present. When I hear that Jake pivots that conversation there, I see the way that my teammates react in the locker room or when I score that touchdown, that’s enough for me,” Prescott said. “That’s more than enough for me. When I’m done playing this game or when I’m not here anymore, life’s life. Life’s going to continue to go on. People are going to look up history, people believe what they want to believe. The simple fact that I actually had to explain Roger’s history to a teammate [Quinnen Williams], there’s going to be Cowboy players that don’t give a damn or know who I am one day. So, I just want to be present as much as I can every second and every opportunity that I have. And I think that’ll be enough.”
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
You must be logged in to post a comment Login