Dak Prescott Doesn’t Understand the Word ‘Pressure’ Despite Having ‘a Lot of Weight on His Shoulders’ vs. 49ers
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This is step-up time for Dak Prescott. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback is on a bigger stage now as his team preps for a first-round playoff meeting with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Cowboys inked Prescott to the largest deal in team history this year, and now it’s time for Prescott to show his worth. It’s prove-it time for the sixth-year starter, but he’s prepared to handle this game like he does all the others.
Dak Prescott has ‘a lot of weight on his shoulders’ this postseason
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 08, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images.
During his six years in the NFL, Prescott has played in three postseason games, going 1-2. His teams have not qualified for the playoffs the last two seasons. Prescott suffered a serious ankle injury during Week 5 last year and missed the remainder of the season. His future was in serious question.
Prescott inked a four-year contract worth $160 million. According to the Dallas Morning News, the deal paid him an NFL-high $75 million for the 2021 season.
Prescott hasn’t disappointed. Coming off a 2020 season where the Cowboys finished 6-10, the Cowboys quarterback returned as if he hadn’t missed a beat. He led Dallas to a 12-5 record and an NFC East crown. In 16 games, he threw for 37 touchdowns and 4,449 yards.
Prescott is back. The Cowboys are back. Now it’s time for No. 4 to step it up.
“Dak’s got pressure to be good and to get this team to the Super Bowl,” said former NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci, per the Dallas Morning News. “Gosh, they haven’t been there since ‘95 so there’s a lot of weight on his shoulders. There’s high expectations on that team but especially that position.”
Dak Prescott doesn’t understand the word ‘pressure’
The stakes might be a lot higher Sunday when the Cowboys and 49ers meet, but don’t tell that to Prescott. He will approach this one as he does every other game. He’s got the money now, but he still has the same midset he’s always had.
“I mean I do what I normally do,” he said. “I don’t necessarily know why people have labeled the word ‘pressure’ as such a bad thing, honestly.
“It creates high expectations and high standards, and they usually create high results. So for me it’s just about being who I am, staying true to that, knowing who I am, preparing the same way that I have, and that I do trust in the people around me, trust in my play-callers and my preparation. Then just going out there and playing the game that I love without any hesitation.”
Prescott and the Cowboys earned the right to play at home. They are the No. 3 seed in the NFC and enter Sunday’s game as a field-goal favorite. Even if pressure isn’t felt by Prescott, it will likely play a role with some of the players and possibly Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
Former Cowboys offensive coordintor Norv Turner said there’s only one real way of alleviating that pressure.
“Well, how you handle it is winning,” Turner said.
Prescott handles himself well as a leader of the Cowboys
Dak Prescott on Cowboys-49ers playoff game: “It’s going to be a dogfight. It’s going to be a war. And we’re exactly up for that.” pic.twitter.com/pYW54vyXa3 — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 13, 2022
Prescott is saying all the right things heading into Sunday’s game. Expectations are high for the Cowboys, and they should be. Prescott has a wide range of weapons at his disposal. For the Cowboys, getting to the postseason won’t be enough.
Prescott, however, is taking things one game at a time. He knows his role as the leader, and the Cowboys will go as far as he takes them.
He knows what he has to do.
“As the leader of this team as the quarterback, I understand my obligations. It’s as simple as that,” Prescott said. “People can put as much pressure as they want on it. I hold myself to high standards and high expectations, and I plan to go out there and fulfill everything that I want.”
RELATED: Dak Prescott Explains How an Insurance Job Shaped His Quarterback Career
Who is Dak Prescott’s girlfriend? What to know about Natalie Buffett
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Dak Prescott’s sixth NFL season has been even sweeter, thanks in part to his favorite fan.
The Cowboys quarterback, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in October 2020, has had a special supporter in the stands throughout the 2021 season, girlfriend Natalie Buffett.
Natalie Buffett, the girlfriend of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, models a “Cowboys make better lovers” jacket for a Dec. 26, 2021, Cowboys game. Instagram
In fact, during Dallas’ post-Christmas 2021 beatdown of the Washington Football Team, Buffett made a bold statement on the sidelines, courtesy of her “Cowboys make better lovers” jacket.
Though Prescott and Buffett, 23, have kept much of their relationship under wraps, here’s what to know about the couple’s romance.
Birthday debut
Natalie Buffett celebrates boyfriend Dak Prescott’s birthday in July 2020. Instagram/Natalie Buffett
It is believed Prescott and Buffett started dating sometime in 2020, based on social media photos. For Prescott’s 27th birthday in July of that year, Buffett posted her first picture with the Pro Bowler on her Instagram page.
“Happy birthday babe,” she captioned the shot, which featured the couple striking a pose outdoors.
Dak Prescott and girlfriend Natalie Buffett share a kiss in July 2021 for his 28th birthday. Instagram/Natalie Buffett
Buffett followed suit for Prescott’s 28th birthday in 2021, writing, “So proud of everything you’ve accomplished and overcome this past year.”
‘Ready for my checkup’
During a Week 5 game against the Giants in October 2020, Prescott sustained a right ankle injury and was carted off the field. He underwent surgery as a result and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
In the weeks after the procedure, Prescott dressed as a patient for Halloween with Buffett as his nurse.
“Time for your vaccine #itsjello,” she captioned the post on Instagram, to which the quarterback replied, “Ready for my checkup.”
Contract celebration
Dak Prescott and girlfriend Natalie Buffett celebrate his contract extension in March 2021. Instagram/Natalie Buffett
Before the 2021 NFL season got underway, Prescott and the Cowboys agreed to a massive, four-year contract extension in March 2021 worth $160 million, with $126 million guaranteed.
“So many Moments to get to this, But the Best Ones will Come Out of it!” Prescott exclaimed on Instagram at the time.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott drops back to throw a pass on Jan. 8, 2022, in a game against the Eagles. Getty Images
Buffett then shared a photo of the couple posing at The Star, the Cowboys’ team headquarters in Frisco, Texas. She captioned her Instagram post, “My cowboy.”
Prescott, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, has a reported net worth of $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Playoff-bound
Natalie Buffett (left) watches the Cowboys play the Giants on Dec. 19, 2021. Instagram/Natalie Buffett
The Cowboys claimed the 2021 NFC East title in late December, punching their ticket to the playoffs.
One week before Dallas claimed the title as their own, Buffett said how “proud” she is of the Cowboys following their 21-6 victory over the Giants.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott readies to throw a pass on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in a game against the Giants. Getty Images
“So proud of our boys,” Prescott wrote on Instagram as she watched the game from a MetLife Stadium suite.
Through 16 games in 2021, Prescott has thrown for 4,449 yards with a career-high 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Opinion: Dak Prescott’s postgame blunder was even worse than squandering the clock
Dak Prescott should be ashamed of himself – and not because of the errors in judgment that squandered the final seconds off the clock in the wild-card playoff loss that ended the season for the NFL’s biggest tease, the Dallas Cowboys.
No, the Cowboys quarterback ought to check himself for suggesting that frustrated fans at Jerry World were in the right for dangerously hurling trash at the officials who called it like they saw it.
“Credit to them,” Prescott said during his postgame news conference.
Credit to them?
Quick, somebody unleash the slime. That is seriously crossing the line, Dak.
Sure, Prescott, like the fans, had to be plenty frustrated that he didn’t get a chance to run off a final play for a last-gasp heave to the end zone that might have capped a comeback to beat the 49ers. Precious time – what, maybe one second or fractions of a second? – was lost as umpire Ramon George properly spotted the ball.
But for one of the NFL’s marquee headliners, a man who has almost always presented himself as a class act, to suddenly condone violence was so tacky.
One of the reporters in the room, perhaps finding it hard to believe the initial response, asked Prescott for a clarification, he doubled down.
“If the fans felt the same way as us and that’s what they were doing it for, yeah, I’m guessing that’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast,” Prescott clarified.
“Yeah, I think everybody is upset with the way that this thing played out. I’m sure a fan would feel the same way that we do.”
‘LIVID’: Dak Prescott, Cowboys try to make sense of bizarre final play vs. 49ers
OPINION: Dismal showing by Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t be a surprise
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In his postgame interview, Dak Prescott did not hide his frustration toward the officiating crew.
Whining about the officials – and there was plenty of that from Prescott, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and I’m sure, so many of the fans who make up Cowboys Nation – is one thing.
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Suggesting that fans react with hooliganism is another type of principle.
Of course, maybe it would have never come to Prescott making his biggest blunder during his postgame news conference had the quarterback not ran down the middle of the field for a few extra yards, while carrying no timeouts.
That’s not all on Prescott. Who’s in charge? McCarthy, who replaced the embattled Jason Garrett, is running the show. And Kellen Moore, the much-hyped offensive coordinator who has drawn so much attention as a so-called hot candidate to be a head coach, was in on it, too.
All of that football brainpower and they came up with that?
Prescott, McCarthy, et al, should have owned their blunder and denounced the fans who took it too far and decided that it was a good idea to throw stuff. Some of the objects aimed at the officials nearly hit some of the players. Not that their lives are more valuable than the dedicated people who make up the officiating crews, but they, too, were in danger of becoming innocent victims.
Thankfully, there are no reports of any injuries that came as a result of the hurled objects.
Sadly, Prescott, the face of the Cowboys’ franchise beyond team owner Jerry Jones, was willing to drag his well-crafted image into the gutter with the folks who acted like fools.
It’s certainly a bad loss for Prescott and the Cowboys – in more ways than one.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dak Prescott’s postgame blunder worse than clock management in loss
Dak Prescott uncharacteristically nasty over Cowboys fans throwing trash at refs
Things turned ugly at AT&T Stadium as the Cowboys’ first-round playoff game went final, but one team leader’s comments about it are leaving an aftertaste that, for some, is even worse.
The contest’s chaotic final minute of regulation saw quarterback Dak Prescott drive the Cowboys offense 56 yards in under 30 seconds toward what looked like would be at least a chance at a heroic game-winning touchdown. But time expired before Prescott could spike the ball to stop the clock, and there were a few moments of confusion as officials conferred. When referee Alex Kemp keyed his mic and declared the game over, the hometown crowd voiced their displeasure… and more.
Videos shared on social media shortly after the 23-17 Dallas loss showed fans pelting the field with bottles and trash as the team headed for the tunnel.
#Cowboys fans throwing things at their own players. Got this sent to me by one. Be better fans wow! pic.twitter.com/mlVttbFlpg — Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 17, 2022
It’s a deplorable and dangerous scene that has, unfortunately, played out before at other stadiums. But as bad as it looked on the surface, the situation may have been made worse by comments made soon after; comments that came from the unlikeliest of sources.
When asked about it in his remarks to the media, Prescott admitted he was not aware of the fans’ postgame reaction.
“No, I didn’t see that,” the team captain told reporters. “It’s sad. You’re talking about a team, you’re talking about men coming out each and every day of their lives and give everything to this sport, give everything to this game of football. Nobody wants to succeed more than we want to succeed. I understand fans and the word ‘fan’ for fanatic, I get that. But to know everything that we put into this, day in and day out, try our hardest, nobody comes into the game wanting or expecting to lose, and for people to react that way when you’re supposed to be a supporter and be with us through thick and thin, that’s tough.”
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But then Prescott was informed that the fans were more likely aiming at the officials, who were exiting the field alongside the team.
The normally even-keeled Prescott took the bait and went uncharacteristically nasty.
“Credit to them, then,” he said. “Credit to them.”
Full @dak response to fans throwing bottles at refs. pic.twitter.com/9S5bMNA2P4 — Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) January 17, 2022
He got a laugh, but that’s a cringe-worthy look for the team’s leader and Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.
Yes, his team had just lost a heartbreaking playoff game. Prescott himself knows he will be criticized as part of the controversy over the final play; whether he should have run the ball, whether he should have downed himself earlier to save a few precious seconds, why he handed the ball to his center instead of to the umpire as is generally taught, and so on.
It was the heat of the moment, immediately following a gutting loss that he and many in the Dallas locker room and throughout Cowboys Nation are pinning on the referees.
Prescott’s frustration with the officials and anger over how Sunday’s game ended are understandable, but praising fans for potentially inflicting bodily harm, even if a poor attempt at a joke, is going too far.
Later in the press conference, Prescott was asked to clarify his earlier comment. He didn’t walk anything back, and in fact suggested that the fans merely felt the same way about the officiating as he and his teammates did.
“I guess it’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast,” he offered. “I think everybody was upset about the way that this thing played out.”
Yes, everybody who loves this team is upset about the loss.
But many who love this team’s quarterback and hold him up as a positive role model are now justifiably upset and disappointed about his thoughtless comments.
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