It’s not often that a play in Week 6 of an 18-week NFL season carries much meaning for a team’s immediate and foreseeable futures, but that’s exactly what happened on the last play of the Dallas Cowboys‘ 35-29 overtime victory at the New England Patriots in 2021. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott faked a handoff to running back Ezekiel Elliott on the left before rolling back to the right side of the field, where he uncorked a perfect strike to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in stride for the game-winning, 35-yard touchdown.
In the immediate aftermath, Prescott was wearing a boot on his right leg as he left the stadium. The Cowboys had won a measuring stick road game in Bill Belichick’s house but Prescott had landed awkwardly on his right leg on the deciding play, leading to a calf strain. He would miss their next game, a Week 8 road contest at the Minnesota Vikings, but the message was clear going forward: utilizing Prescott’s legs to create space for playmakers like Lamb in the passing game is the Cowboys’ path to victory. Elliott is no longer the Cowboys’ primary offensive weapon.
When Prescott and Elliott entered the NFL together in 2016, the running back was Dallas’ workhouse, with Elliott leading the league in rushing yards in two of his first three seasons. However, Elliott’s rushing yards per game has declined consecutively in each of his six professional seasons, which is one reason why head coach Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys are so enthused about fully re-incorporating Prescott’s legs into their 2022 offense to pair with the electrifying Lamb, now that their QB isn’t coming off a fractured ankle like he was last offseason.
“I think like anything, this is year three in the offense and the opportunity to move more potentially than he [Prescott] did in the past, as far as what he’s being asked to do,” McCarthy said in June. “I think he’s clearly the thing that jumps out to me, is his movement ability in the scramble drills and scramble situations. The way he activates scramble drills. He’s gotten more reps at it, it’s more natural to him, so he looks really good.”
Prior to his calf injury, Prescott was the NFL’s highest-rated passer (143.3 passer rating) on plays where he left the pocket by design or when he improvised his way out into open space to pass in the first six weeks of 2021, according to Pro Football Focus. After the injury, both Prescott’s efficiency on…
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