Donovan McNabb Says Cowboys Ask Dak Prescott 'To Do Too Much,' Other Former Players Aren't So Nice
Things aren't exactly going as planned for the Dallas Cowboys. America's Team started out the season expected to be a Super Bowl contender. But Sunday night's 42-10 beatdown courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers is leaving fans and reporters with a lot of questions. Namely, is quarterback Dak Prescott still the man for the job?
OutKick's Donovan McNabb says the Cowboys are simply asking Prescott to do too much.
"When they continue to build you up, the expectations become higher. And so if you're just kind of playing at the level that you're comfortable with, and you're going about it as such, it's not good enough," McNabb told Armando Salguero on the OutKick podcast The Five Spot.
"So now they bring you down lower. And so you're fighting to try to please instead of just doing what's needed to help win football games."
Prescott finished Sunday's game14 of 24 with 153 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. All but one of Prescott's three second-half picks were later turned into touchdown drives for San Francisco.
McNabb said Prescott was holding the ball too long and trusting himself too much — trying to throw into tight windows.
"A lot of times as a quarterback, you have to play cautious. And I say play cautious and not being Check-Down-Charlie," McNabb said. "But you have to take what the defense is giving you instead of trying to create something that may not be there."
McNabb — a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback who played 13 seasons in the NFL — offers a critical but empathetic perspective on the Cowboys' QB.
Other former players weren't so nice.
Former NFL Players Skewer Dak Prescott
On NBC's postgame show Sunday, former safety Donte Whitner minced no words
"Dak Prescott sucks. Period," Whitner said.
"They talk so much about Dak Prescott being a top-tier quarterback, franchise guy. I don't see it. I see them trying to cover up for what he lacks — a lot of quick throws, cutting half of the field off and giving him easy throws. Other than that, he's not a quarterback that can drop back and really take advantage of a defense and carve it up."
And former running back LeSean McCoy was even more blunt than that — describing Dak's performance in one simple word: "ass."
Sunday's loss was certainly a wake-up call for Dallas. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is standing by his quarterback, who is under contract through 2024.
"Dak Prescott is a quarterback that can get us to the Super Bowl, and that's the way that's going to be," Jones said. "I want to be real clear: Dak's very capable of making this team be where we want it to go."
McNabb said he thinks the Cowboys will turn it around and win 10 games this season. But they've got a tough schedule ahead of them. Dak — and the rest of the team — can't afford another game like Sunday night's.