ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott said Thursday night that the man who called the Dallas Cowboys’ performance “embarrassing” as the quarterback walked toward the locker room was free to speak his mind, but that he should have said it to Prescott directly. The remark came after a 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium.
Prescott did not know who the man was. The first question of his postgame news conference described him as an employee, and Prescott said it could have been an employee or a driver.
“Not that they’re wrong. But the thing was, I just, yeah, I don’t know who it was, employee, it was a driver, whoever it was,” Prescott said. “He’s free to speak his mind.”
The loss dropped Dallas to 2-3. Prescott finished 24-of-42 for 316 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and Tampa Bay, which arrived 0-4, ran for 241 yards.
Dak Prescott Says Criticism Is Fair — But ‘Say It To Me’
What bothered Prescott was that the man looked away when Prescott turned toward him.
“I know when he said it, I just happened to look at him. And at that point, he looked away, didn’t look. And then when I turned my head back, he said something else. And so that’s the part that, just as a man or as just a person, feel free to speak your mind,” Prescott explained. “Just speak it. Don’t cower it away from the reaction that you’re going to get.”
“And so, yeah, I mean, if you’re saying it’s embarrassing, say it’s embarrassing. If you’re saying it to me, then say it to me,” Prescott continued. “Go back on it. So that’s all that was. And hate it that it’s even being talked about, to be honest with you.”
Prescott would not call the loss itself embarrassing. He said using the word would discredit the NFL, the Buccaneers, and Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles, though he said the Cowboys were definitely supposed to win the game.
Brian Schottenheimer Calls ‘Embarrassing’ Remark ‘Motivating’
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said earlier in the night that the team would always be about shared accountability and that he would never make excuses. He called the remark motivating.
“Motivating. Motivating. We believe in what we’re doing. We believe that we have good players, good coaches,” Schottenheimer said. “And we believe the solution is in this room. And we’re gonna get back to work.”
A reporter followed up that Schottenheimer had not taken the comment as disrespect, a framing the coach rejected.
“I didn’t say I didn’t take it as disrespect. I didn’t say that. I said it’s motivating,” Schottenheimer explained. “People are allowed to say what they want to say.”
Prescott Calls Cowboys’ Early-Season Swings ‘Very, Very Challenging’
The loss was the latest swing in a season that has gone loss, win, loss over the last three games. Dallas lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro, then beat the Houston Texans 34-30 on Oct. 4. Prescott said he is not personally fatigued by the highs and lows, but that this game felt similar to a game against the Arizona Cardinals last season.
“It’s frustrating. I wouldn’t say I’m personally fatigued. But, yeah, it’s frustrating. I feel like this game was similar to the Cardinals game last year. And then I feel like I can probably pick another one from the year before,” Prescott said. “And so, as a leader, as a guy that’s been on this team, it’s frustrating because you don’t feel it until afterwards. You feel like you’re saying enough, you’re being contagious enough, you’re being the leader that you need to be.”
“And I know guys are fighting. I know guys are trying. And, but it sucks. And yeah, I definitely won’t use the word fatigue, but it’s frustrating. It’s challenging. It’s very, very challenging. And it’s something that I’m going to embrace,” Prescott added. “Thankfully, we’re five games into the season. Thankfully, our division hasn’t looked like somebody hasn’t taken off and run with it, and everybody’s still in front of us, so that’s the beauty of it.”
The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 last season. They visit the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Lambeau Field, with kickoff set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC, and then play at the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 26.
