‘Pissed-Off Version’: Dak Prescott Says Cowboys Have Brian Schottenheimer’s Back After Win Over Eagles
PHILADELPHIA — Dak Prescott said the Dallas Cowboys have coach Brian Schottenheimer’s back after a week in which Schottenheimer heard the noise about his play-calling. Dallas responded Monday night with 204 rushing yards in a 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved the Cowboys to 3-4. Dallas had lost 24-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 8 and 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 18, scoring 29 points combined in the two games, according to The Associated Press.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said last Wednesday at the NFL’s fall meeting that he does not anticipate any more coaching changes this season, The Associated Press reported. Dallas hired longtime defensive assistant Mike Pettine earlier this month.
Schottenheimer opened his postgame news conference by addressing the idea that Monday was a desperate spot.
“We played really good tonight, second half,” Schottenheimer said. “Had nothing to do with desperation. Our guys just played good.”
Dak Prescott Says Brian Schottenheimer Heard The Noise
Schottenheimer is the head coach, Prescott said, and the team is going to follow him. Prescott said the Cowboys saw a hungrier coach during the week.
“Definitely hungry, pissed-off version of [Schotty]. It’s not like he’s naive. It’s not like he hadn’t heard some noise about him, whether it’s the call[ing] in the games or whatever doubt that’s been out there,” Prescott said. “But we’ve got his back. He knows that. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team.”
“Everybody handles everything different, so I don’t blame them to an extent,” Prescott continued. “And yeah, we’ve got [his] back. More importantly, it’s just about us going out there and executing on Sundays.”
Prescott does not need much to get locked in, he said. Some players feed off a coach’s fire, according to Prescott.
“I’m as motivated and as locked in as anybody and don’t need much. But I’m sure the team, I know the team feels it. I’m sure there’s players that need that to fire themselves up to an extent. It’s contagious,” Prescott explained. “And at the end of the day, he’s our head coach. We’re going to follow him. As I said, we’ve got his back, and we appreciate that.”
The two did not talk about the criticism directly, according to Prescott. He said the hunger set in after a full week without a chance to get the last two losses out of their mouths.
“It was just evident. There’s actually no conversations about it. I’m not one to talk about that for the most part. The only thing we can do is go control what’s in front of us. I think he’s very much the same way, and I think that’s why the hunger was set in,” Prescott said. “We had a full week of not being able to go back out there and get the win or get the taste out of our mouth from the last couple of weeks, you can say. [He] was just anxious to get to it, and you can tell. And we had a great week of preparation, nothing different than we’ve been doing, but great communication throughout the week, and it continued all day today.”
Schottenheimer’s postgame answers ran shorter than usual Monday night. On Tuesday, he said nothing written or said about him had set him off, and that his focus was on getting the team ready for a rival.
“No, I’ll be honest. I really do a good job of blocking you guys out,” Schottenheimer said Tuesday. “It’s a big game for us. We’re motivated as a football team. I’m motivated as a head coach to get our guys playing to the standard that I know they’re capable of playing. Intense game against a real rival.”
“But, no, at the end of the day, in this business, you get paid to deal with the criticism and things that come with the job, and that never … I mean, remember you’re talking to a guy that grew up for 25 years in a household with a head coach in the NFL,” Schottenheimer continued. “So, no, it was more just my focus was getting the team to be focused and motivated. And I think you saw that last night. So I’m proud of our group.”
His father, Marty Schottenheimer, was an NFL head coach for 21 seasons with four franchises. Prescott said Monday that the team feeds off a fired-up Schottenheimer, and Schottenheimer said Tuesday he will always wear his emotions on game day.
“Like I said, I’m always going to wear my emotions where I do. It’s an intense game that we coach and play,” Schottenheimer explained. “But like I said, hungry and motivated for our football team to play to the level that we’re capable of playing. And I thought we did that for the most part through the game. Is it ever going to be perfect? No. But I’m glad he liked it.”
The Cowboys entered the game last in the NFL in carries per game at 20.9, according to the team. Dallas ran 38 times Monday, and Prescott said the offense has to stick with the run.
“We’ve just got to stick to the run. You’ve got to call it and keep calling, and [Schotty] knows that, and he’s going to continue to do that,” Prescott said. “And I think when we do, you get games like this. I mean, I wish I would have even been cleaner more in the past game, right? But from there, what happens when you stick to the run, you make them respect the run, you get the boxes you want, and that allows us to [attack] with the playmakers we have.”
Cowboys Players Say Outside Noise Crept In Before Win Over Philadelphia Eagles
Javonte Williams ran 25 times for a career-high 155 yards. Schottenheimer put an emphasis during the week on getting at least 25 rushes, according to Williams.
“It was good. I mean, just to give [Schotty] the confidence to keep calling the runs,” Williams said. “He made a big emphasis on that this week to get at least 25 rushes in the game. And I feel like we executed at a high level.”
The Cowboys knew they had it in them, Williams said, and the talk around the team lit a fire.
“Like I said, we knew we had it in us. And we heard everybody talking and everything that everybody was saying,” Williams explained. “I mean, it just lit a fire up in us, and we just got to keep it going through the rest of the season.”
Outside linebacker Rashan Gary said the team is built on the work it put in from OTAs through camp. The outside noise still crept in a little this week, according to Gary.
“As a team, us coming together from OTAs all the way to camp, we understand the blood, the work, the sweat, the tears that we put into this and what type of team that we are on three phases of the ball when we lock in and play our fashion of the ball,” Gary said. “But outside noise, this week [it] probably creeped in a little bit just hearing [guys] speak on the defense, [guys] speak on the special teams, people speaking on offense, things like that.”
“But at the end of the day, we all control what we need to control, and that’s coming out with the right mindset, taking it one play at a time, one stage at a time,” Gary continued.
Gary said the division game, and where every NFC East team stands, gave Dallas plenty of motivation.
“Very motivated, especially just being a division game, especially just being the next game, understanding the positions every team is in and our division, just understanding the [stakes], everything is in front of us,” Gary explained. “[To]day we had to come in and handle business.”
The New York Giants lead the NFC East at 4-2-1. Schottenheimer said the win gets Dallas right back into the hunt.
“No, I thought it was the next championship opportunity,” Schottenheimer explained. “But again, I think it gets us right back into the hunt in the NFC East.”
Schottenheimer said the defense still has to be a little better against the run. Philadelphia ran for 121 yards.
“Again, we gotta be a little bit better against the run. Third down, we tightened up a little bit in the second half. But all in all, you hold the team to 21 points, that gives us a chance,” Schottenheimer said. “Guys were excited, it’s been a couple weeks coming, but they were excited. But we’re ready for Arizona. We play here in a couple days.”
Dallas hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.
