<
>

In this round, Carson Wentz gets best of Dak Prescott

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dak Prescott figured he would rewatch what happened to him Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles as soon as he got home and maybe one more time when he wakes up in the morning.

"We just have to be ready to go, move on to the Chargers and be ready for the Thanksgiving game," Prescott said.

Prescott will want to forget what happened in the Dallas Cowboys' 37-9 loss as quickly as he can. Nothing good came from the loss to the Eagles.

He completed 18 of 31 passes for 145 yards. He was sacked four times. He was intercepted three times in the same game for the first time in his career. And the Cowboys failed to score a touchdown with him as the starter over a full game for the first time as well.

On the other side, the Eagles second-year quarterback, Carson Wentz, completed 14 of 27 passes for 168 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran six times for 13 yards.

If 2016 was Prescott's magical year, then 2017 has been Wentz's so far.

"He's a big strong guy," coach Jason Garrett said of Wentz, whom he coached in the Senior Bowl. "He's very athletic in the pocket and we had some guys around him and he made some big-time runs and big-time throws when he was under duress. A couple of instances when he was down in the red zone or on one of the third downs with people around him, he stood in there and threw some strikes."

Wentz played the way Prescott played last year. Defenders bounced off him. He didn't force any throws.

Prescott played like a quarterback without his best friend, Ezekiel Elliott, who missed his second game because of a suspension, and best protector, All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith, who missed his second straight game because of a groin injury.

Prescott was hurried even at times when he had time. His passes were off, either low to Dez Bryant in the flat or high to Cole Beasley on the sideline. He was unlucky. His first interception was on a deflected pass that threw off timing of the throw to Terrance Williams. His third interception came on a scramble play after Brice Butler turned to find an opening.

The second one was a forced throw on third down to Bryant.

"Just boneheaded, simple as that," Prescott said. "Trying to force it, trying to make a play down the field on third and long. I should've just went underneath."

The Eagles did not turn any of Prescott's three picks into points, but that's not the point. The Cowboys had 13 possessions in the game and three ended in an interception and one ended with a sack/fumble of Prescott that was returned for a touchdown.

"I thought he battled. I thought he fought," Garrett said. "There were some decisions he made with the football that hurt us in the game -- but he's a competitor. He keeps fighting. Things didn't come up as cleanly as we would've liked in the passing game, but he kept fighting and battling."

In the two games without Elliott, the Cowboys have had 23 possessions and scored one touchdown. That drive covered just 21 yards after a takeaway by the Dallas defense. The Cowboys' best drive against the Eagles was 15 plays, covered 59 yards and lasted 7 minutes, 19 seconds and ended in a Mike Nugent field goal that gave the Cowboys a 9-7 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Prescott was in on four possessions and the Cowboys gained 99 yards. The Eagles' defense smothered the Cowboys. He did not have a pass of longer than 19 yards. Jason Witten caught Prescott's first pass of the game for 7 yards and was not targeted again. Beasley had just two catches for 7 yards. Bryant finished with eight catches for 63 yards.

"Consciously I'm not trying to carry the whole team," Prescott said. "I'm not trying to do that. I'm not putting more on myself at all. I simply have to play better."

The lack of success the Cowboys have had offensively isn't just a Prescott problem. Not having Elliott hurts. Not having Smith hurts.

"We've got to do a better job of helping him out," Witten said. "The guy's got ice in his veins, he really does. You can't put it on him. It's all of us. We've got to perform better. We know our system has worked in the past and that formula and what we're trying to do. We have to get back to that."

Prescott and the Cowboys get a chance to play better on Thursday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"I'd play tomorrow if I could," Prescott said.