COWBOYS
The staggering Dak Prescott statistic that will blow your mind...and not in a good way
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was never known for his rushing stats, but the decline they’ve taken in a season when they’re needed badly is concerning.
The Dallas Cowboys are not off to a good start this year. And quarterback Dak Prescott, who was just given a contract extension that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history, is not helping that fact.
After having one of his best career seasons last year, Prescott is playing some of his worst football ever this year. Certainly, this does not mean I am blaming him for the Cowboys' problems, which are plentiful...
The defense carries a lot of the blame as one of the worst in the league right now, but the offense is what’s really concerning. The defense has the excuse of a load of injuries to its starters. The offense is nearly 100% healthy, and is still failing to perform.
The offensive line is ranked 19th in pass-block win rate and 18th in run-block win rate. The wide receivers can’t seem to run the right routes. Head coach Mike McCarthy is calling questionable plays.
The Cowboys ground attack is one of the worst in the league. They rank dead last in rushing yards and their RB1 Rico Dowdle is 18th for running backs in EPA/attempt with their RB2 Ezekiel Elliott at 41st in that same category.
And that brings us to a staggering statistic.
Prescott has less rushing yards than backup quarterbacks through Week 7
Now, Dak Prescott was never known for putting up major rushing yards. He is no Lamar Jackson after all. But the major decline he’s taken in that category this season is just shocking.
Through his first four seasons in the NFL, Prescott had a total of 1,221 rushing yards for an average 305.3 yards per season. After suffering an ankle injury the next season, he came back to rush for 570 yards from 2021-23, an average of 190 yards per season.
Fast forward to now. Dak Prescott currently has a total of 25 rushing yards through six games. At this rate, he’ll finish this season with just 70.8 yards, a career-low by far.
What’s perhaps most shocking about this stat is where he ranks compared to other quarterbacks. With 25 rushing yards through Week 7, Prescott ranks 37th among NFL quarterbacks. This puts him below quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Flacco, Bryce Young, Marucs Mariota, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Spencer Rattler...to name a few. Here’s the list:
| Rank | Quarterback | Rushing Yards through Week 7 | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamar Jackson | 455 | 7 |
| 2 | Jayden Daniels | 372 | 7 |
| 3 | Kyler Murray | 325 | 7 |
| 4 | Bo Nix | 255 | 7 |
| 5 | Justin Fields | 231 | 6 |
| 6 | Anthony Richardson | 197 | 5 |
| 7 | Daniel Jones | 184 | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Allen | 179 | 7 |
| 9 | Caleb Williams | 169 | 6 |
| 10 | Geno Smith | 161 | 7 |
| 11 | Baker Mayfield | 158 | 7 |
| 12 | Brock Purdy | 154 | 7 |
| 13 | Deshaun Watson | 148 | 7 |
| 14 | Jalen Hurts | 133 | 5 |
| 15 | Patrick Mahomes | 122 | 6 |
| 16 | Malik Willis | 114 | 3 |
| 17 | Will Levis | 106 | 5 |
| 18 | Sam Darnold | 100 | 6 |
| 19 | Trevor Lawrence | 95 | 7 |
| 20 | C.J. Stroud | 94 | 7 |
| 21 | Joe Burrow | 91 | 7 |
| 22 | Taysom Hill | 77 | 3 |
| 23 | Drake Maye | 68 | 3 |
| 24 | Tyler Huntley | 67 | 3 |
| 25 | Spencer Rattler | 61 | 2 |
| 26 | Jacoby Brissett | 51 | 5 |
| 27 | Aaron Rodgers | 44 | 7 |
| 28 | Dorian Thompson-Robinson | 44 | 1 |
| 29 | Gardner Minshew II | 40 | 6 |
| 30 | Marcus Mariota | 36 | 2 |
| 31 | Justin Herbert | 34 | 6 |
| 32 | Andy Dalton | 34 | 6 |
| 33 | Jordan Love | 29 | 5 |
| 34 | Tua Tagovailoa | 28 | 2 |
| 35 | Joe Flacco | 26 | 3 |
| 36 | Bryce Young | 26 | 4 |
| 37 | Dak Prescott | 25 | 6 |
There you have it. While Prescott running the ball more won‘t solve nearly all Dallas’ problems, it‘s a more-than-necessary addition this season, as the Cowboys’ running back group is not threatening defenses whatsoever.
In games which Prescott puts up at least 30 rushing yards, the Cowboys are 15-5. In games in which he‘s scored a rushing touchdown (27), they are 22-5. Of course, if they continue to fall so far behind in games that the run game isn’t even a possibility, then we have an even bigger problem.