It doesn’t matter what Dak Prescott does, he knows he’s a temp.
But what he’s done so far is at least showing he might be the guy the Cowboys eventually trust when Tony Romo isn’t on the way back.
“This is Romo’s team,” Prescott said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’ve said that from the moment that I was named the starter, and he went down. I’m just trying to do my best to win games and put this team in a successful position to do that week in and week out, and when he comes back I’ll leave that up to the big guys.”
So far, he’s doing just that. He’s set a league record for most pass attempts by a rookie starter in his first two games without an interception (75, the record was Warren Moon’s 72 and Carson Wentz is just behind at 71). He hasn’t thrown a touchdown yet either, but he has led the Cowboys to a win in two starts, matching what all the replacements did last year in 12.
Romo’s expected to miss at least six games because of the compression fracture in his back, but he’s already started throwing as he recovers. But as long as Prescott plays smartly, the Cowboys may actually survive his absence this time.
“I think he’s an excellent decision-maker,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of Prescott. “He’s handled the different situations in the game very well. We’ve had success; he’s handled that well. We’ve had some adversity; he’s handled that well. We’ve been ahead; he’s handled that well. We’ve been behind; he’s handled that well. So I think you put all of those things together, you feel good about where he is in all aspects of his game.”
But perhaps most of all, Prescott has enough self-awareness to know nothing he’s going to do is going to buy him more time this season, since Romo’s physical condition is the only real factor in who starts.
