Last season, the Dallas Cowboys came to Levi's Stadium -- home of the San Francisco 49ers -- for a "Sunday Night Football" showdown in Week 5 and got walloped 42-10.
This season, the Cowboys returned to the scene of the crime in Week 8 under the same "Sunday Night Football" prime-time lights, and they got what they wanted -- they had the football down 30-24 with 3:15 left to play. An ideal setup for quarterback Dak Prescott to replicate his "Sunday Night Football" game-winning drive at the Pittsburgh Steelers that concluded with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass.
Lightning didn't strike twice for Prescott and the Cowboys offense in 2024 as he threw four consecutive incompletions, and Dallas dropped its fourth in a row to the 49ers by a final score of 30-24. His third-down throw hit wide receiver KaVontae Turpin in the hands deep down the left sideline, but the 5-foot-9 wideout dropped the ball. The fourth-down throw to 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks hit the turf after some borderline questionable contact occurred while the football traveled his intended target's direction. Prescott finished with 243 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 25 of 38 passing Sunday night.
"Me, personally, I'm frustrated," Prescott said postgame on Sunday night. "I'm frustrated with myself and my play. I imagine the rest of the guys are ... not getting a win, [lost] two in a row, sitting at 3-4. But I can definitely tell you that nobody is shaken or giving up. Frustration is very high, but it's a long season. A lot (is) still ahead of us. Frustrated is the best way that I can put it."
In three of the four losses since 2021 against the 49ers -- both postseason defeats in 2021 and 2022 and Sunday in Week 8 -- the Cowboys had possession of the football with a chance to win the game late. They didn't score any points on any of those three chances, and Prescott has thrown five touchdowns to eight interceptions during the Cowboys' four-game losing streak to their traditional NFC rivals.
"We just haven't made the play, and they've made them more than us. ... It's been a couple years, a couple times," Prescott said. "Shit is frustrating. I've got to make the plays, period."
| Dak Prescott Career vs. 49ers (Including Playoffs) | First Two Games | Last Four Games |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 2-0 | 0-4 |
Team PPG | 32.0 | 15.8 |
TD-INT | 5-0 | 5-8 |
Passer Rating | 123.4 | 65.3 |
Prescott and the Cowboys offense does deserve some credit for ripping off consecutive touchdown drives, both of which concluded with touchdown tosses to All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb, in the fourth quarter to make the contest a legit game near the end. However, when they needed a third consecutive touchdown drive, starting at their own 25 with the game on the line, Prescott and the offense couldn't come up with any more big plays.
"That's all I can ask for is an opportunity," Prescott said. ... "Ball in our hand, down six, to go win the game. ... I've got to make throws, pressure or not, and I'm capable of doing it," he said. "So, I've got to do it."
Prescott is now the first Cowboys quarterback with multiple interceptions in three consecutive games since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman did so in 1992, per ESPN Research. It's clear the Cowboys quarterback is feeling the burden of having to make up for the NFL's worst run game (74.1 rushing yards per game) while helping two rookies -- first-round left tackle Tyler Guyton and third-round center Cooper Beebe -- get acclimated to their new roles in the pro's. It doesn't help matters either that the Cowboys injury-plagued defense -- down their top four edge rushers and two of their top three cornerbacks -- surrendered 223 rushing yards and 21 consecutive points in the third quarter to the 49ers on Sunday.
Prescott threw just nine interceptions to an NFL-best 36 touchdown passes in 2023, but through seven games in 2024, he is already up to eight interceptions, thanks to forcing throws in an effort to be the Superman quarterback the franchise paid him to be when they re-signed him to a four-year, $240 million extension just before Week 1.
"I don't have to be perfect, but I damn sure can't be having the turnovers," Prescott said. ... "Once again, we put ourselves behind in the turnover battle and that's on me," Prescott said. "Can't have that if you're planning to win games. I've got to clean that up, period."
| Dak Prescott NFL Ranks, 2023 vs. 2024 | 2023 | 2024* |
|---|---|---|
Completion Pct | 69.5% (2nd) | 63.7% (23rd) |
| Pass Yards | 4,516 (3rd) | 1,845 (8th) |
Pass Yards/Att | 7.7 (6th) | 7.0 (22nd) |
Pass TD | 36 (1st) | 10 (T-13th) |
TD-INT | 36-9 (2nd) | 10-8 (25th) |
Passer Rating | 105.9 (2nd) | 84.5 (24th) |
| Expected Points Added/Play | 0.18 (2nd) | -0.07 (20th) |
* Entering "Monday Night Football" in Week 8
Speaking of the big contracts Dallas doled out this offseason, Lamb, who signed a four-year, $136 million extension in late August, looked like the 2023 first-team All-Pro version of himself with he and Prescott connecting on 13 of 17 targets for 146 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Week 8 was Lamb's first 100-yard receiving game of 2024 and his fourth career game with at least 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, which is the most such games in Cowboys history.
"We're about to get this thing rolling," Lamb said postgame. "We're about to get this thing rolling, for sure."
Dallas needs to do so ASAP as they are set to face the seventh-toughest remaining schedule in the NFL based on the combined record of their remaining opponents (.558 win percentage). The teeth of their remaining slate is their next four games: at the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (5-3) in Week 9, home against the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) in Week 10, home against the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-2) in Week 11 and at the NFC East-leading Washington Commanders (6-2) in Week 12. For the second time after a loss this season, the Cowboys quarterback pointed back to the 2018 season in which they started 3-5 before winning seven of their final eight games to finish 10-6 and win the NFC East as a reason to believe. The problem is the catalyst for that turnaround was owner and general manager Jerry Jones making a blockbuster trade for Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. This time around, Jones' public comments have made it clear that he isn't looking to make a similar move in 2024.
"We just got to take it one at a time," Prescott said. "Simple as that. Been here before in 2018. ... We know what it takes. You can get hot, you can get rolling. That's all we're looking to do. That's my point about this. It's frustrating, but no one is is shook. ... Everything is still in our control. We've lost four, but we can get hot, and that's the plan. We just got to keep building."