DALLAS — Troy Aikman does not think Dak Prescott was pressing to make something happen when Jevón Holland intercepted him late in the first half Sunday. The New York Giants went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 at MetLife Stadium.
Aikman spoke Thursday on his weekly visit with The Musers on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket. The question put to him was whether Prescott feels more pressure than the average quarterback on third down, since a punt puts the Dallas defense back on the field.
The game was tied 7-7 at the time. Dallas had taken over at its own 16-yard line with just under two minutes left in the half after Quinnen Williams forced a fumble. Under pressure, Prescott scrambled to his right and tried to throw the ball out of bounds. The pass fell short of the sideline, and Holland made a sliding interception.
New York scored a touchdown before halftime. The Giants then opened the third quarter with another one. Aikman said he could only imagine what Prescott was feeling in the second half.
“I don’t know if it did at that point in the game,” Aikman said. “On the interception, it looked to me like he was just trying to … it was a heck of a play by Jevón Holland to be able to get over there and make the interception. And even when that happened, well, now the defense needs to make a stop. So it all compounds.”
“And then after the interception, after they score, then obviously that play by Dak, then you look at it a lot differently,” Aikman continued. “Because they were able to score then before going in at half, and it really changed things coming out in the second half. But I think where that game was at that time, I can’t imagine that he was feeling more pressure to try to make something happen.”
Dak Prescott Threw For 175 Yards Against New York Giants
Prescott went 22-of-34 for 175 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. His passer rating was 84.8.
In the first half, the Giants held him to 72 passing yards. Dallas had two possessions after halftime, and Aikman said the Cowboys scored touchdowns on both.
“There’s no doubt that last year with the struggles that the defense had, I think there has to be a mindset that ‘we pretty much need to score every time we get the ball,’” Aikman explained. “Now, in the second half, clearly that became … that’s what they did. That’s what Dallas did with the two possessions they had. But it becomes more and more pronounced that ‘we’re not slowing anybody down.’ And then that becomes hard as opposed to when you’re playing for one of these other teams and the defense is playing so well and they’re going to make key stops.”
“And so that’s real. And that’s kind of the position they were in on [Sunday] night,” Aikman added. “And as I said, I’m still optimistic. I’m not ready to say that this defense is just going to be a carbon copy of what we saw last year. But there’s a lot to clean up, of course, in a short period of time as they go into this week.”
Dak Prescott’s Home Division Streak Meets Washington Commanders
Prescott takes a 19-game home winning streak against NFC East opponents into Sunday, The Dallas Morning News noted. The Washington Commanders visit AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys’ home opener.
Entering this season, Prescott had thrown for 35,989 yards with 243 touchdowns and 92 interceptions in 139 games over 10 seasons. He was sacked 31 times last season.
On Sept. 8, Aikman said on The Rich Eisen Show that keeping Prescott healthy was the key for Dallas. Three-time Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith went on injured reserve after thumb surgery and cannot return before Week 5.
Washington lost 24-22 at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. Kickoff Sunday is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.
