Dak Prescott’s final nine regular-season games in 2018 were actually better than Tom Brady’s

It’s no secret that Amari Cooper drastically changed the fortunes for the members of the 2018 Dallas Cowboys. They were 3-4 when he arrived, had one more small misstep, and then rallied with a win streak and an NFC East title (not to mention a playoff win!).

This coming season will be interesting as we’ll get to see Cooper play an entire schedule with the Cowboys. Obviously, that means an entire season with his quarterback (and likely soon-to-be fellow wealthy teammate) Dak Prescott.

In 2019, the Cowboys will play a variety of interesting games. They host teams like the Packers and Rams, meanwhile they have road trips to tough places like New Orleans, Chicago, and the home of the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

That’s right. Dallas will visit the New England Patriots this season for what will likely (although who knows with them) be the last time in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era. What they’ve done in New England is historic and will likely never be topped, an effort that saw them earn their sixth Lombardi Trophy just a few months ago.

An interesting thing about last season for the Patriots and Cowboys is that they were somewhat similar in some ways. Obviously both teams won their divisions and at least a playoff game (the Pats certainly won more than that). Nobody is comparing what the Cowboys did to the Patriots, New England is significantly superior. Please be clear on that.

But looking deeper at what both teams accomplished last season, what the two quarterbacks did specifically stood out. Take a look at how Dak fared against Brady over the final nine games of their seasons, that’s the point in time in which Amari Cooper was on the Cowboys.

We’ll say it again... in 2018 Tom Brady led to the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl victory for the sixth time. What he did is far more superior than what Prescott did, nobody is arguing anything differently.

Looking strictly at how they compared over the second half of the regular season though, Dak held his own. He’s right there with someone of Tom Brady’s caliber which is impressive given the growing debate as to whether he should be paid top dollar for his position (he should).

One more time, Dak Prescott is nowhere near Tom Brady, but this data is interesting. It suggests at the very least that Prescott can live and operate in elite company. The most important measurement to many here is obviously wins, he had more than Brady. Check that, the Cowboys had more than the Patriots. Obviously Prescott is a big part of that.

There isn’t a soul out there that’s going to tell you that they prefer Dak Prescott over Tom Brady, but what some people will tell you is that they recognize that Dak helps produce similar results to Brady. After all, Prescott has more wins than anyone in the NFL since he entered the league with the exception of the greatest of all-time; if he’s finishing second to Brady he’s doing alright for himself.

This data also says a lot about what Amari Cooper brought to the Cowboys which helps establish (as if it wasn’t already) his worth even more. He turned this team, offense, and quarterback into elite commodities and as long as they stay together everything should operate along those same lines. Brady didn’t exactly have a Cooper land with him in the middle of the season, and the time we’re looking at of his was void of Rob Gronkowski and Josh Gordon at different points. All of that matters.

The overall takeaway here shouldn’t be that someone thinks Prescott is better than Brady. But there is a misconception among some Cowboys fans that Dak is horrible and not functional, this exercise proves that at the very least he’s comparable to Tom Brady, of all people, in his most recent nine games.

Nothing is apples to apples, but there’s a lot of fruit to be looked at overall. Let’s make sure we’re looking with an open mind.