Cowboys news: Dak Prescott receiving outside criticism for his recent play

Ryan Clark blames Dak Prescott for holding Cowboys back - Aryanna Prasad, Fansided

Dak Prescott has had some very erratic play lately, and it’s getting called out.

“This Dak Prescott, the guy playing football now, cannot win a championship!” Clark said on “Get Up.”

“They cannot be a Super Bowl team with No. 4 playing at the level he’s playing at.”

Ryan Clark blames Dak Prescott for recent Cowboys slump

While some are quick to say the problem starts at quarterback, the mystery of the Cowboys’ decline has confounded the NFL world for weeks. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner broke down some of Dallas’ plays in an edition of Study Ball.

“First play of the game, you’ve got Dak Prescott standing here with absolutely no options whatsoever to throw the football,” Warner said.

Others believe the quarterback is still fighting through one of his many recent injuries.

Jerry Jones — always one to defend his quarterbacks — blames the Dallas wideouts.

“The thing that you’re seeing sometimes when the pass looks errant is because the receiver… ran the wrong route, cut it off two yards shorter… That’s one of the answers, better routes,” Jones said.

More To The Offense’s Struggles Than “A Slump” - David Helman, DallasCowboys.com

Whatever it is, the Cowboys are vulnerable until they figure it out their offense.

Most notably, McCarthy was asked if his quarterback was working through a midseason slump – a notion he shot down.

“It’s different in football. A lot of things go into it. I don’t think Dak is in a slump,” he said. “I think everything has not gone the way we would like to go are things we can improve on. That’s the focus this week.”

That’s something McCarthy touched on Sunday evening following the game. Slumps are typically associated with baseball players, and how they’re faring in the batters’ box. As McCarthy noted at the time, football features 11 moving parts working against 11 moving parts, making it much harder to evaluate any one person’s issues.

“We’ve just got to get back to being more consistent and I think that’s the biggest thing,” said offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. “There’s a flow to offense and I think we just got to find our flow and find our rhythm there.”

If slumps aren’t a thing, there’s no shortage of people wondering what else the problem might be. Both McCarthy and Moore were asked a question that’s been on a lot of minds recently: is Prescott fully healthy after injuring his calf in the Oct. 17 win in New England?

“He’s a little sore. He took a few hits in the game, but yeah, he’s healthy,” McCarthy said.

Will the NFL suspend Cowboys tackle La’el Collins for punch? - Angel Torres, The Landry Hat

Is it possible the Cowboys are down two tackles for the Giants game?

Yes. The hit on Prescott, by rule, was a legal hit. But with an asterisk.

The majority of the time, NFL defenders are going to allow quarterbacks to run out of bounds on the sideline. When a quarterback throws it close to the sideline, defenders often pull up because they don’t want to be called for a penalty. Neither of those things happened. Washington Football Team‘s linebacker William Bradley-King pushed Prescott out of bounds as he let the ball go, and that is where all of the excitement happened. Legal, yes. But this is the type of rule that can only be enforced by teammates.

Will Cowboys’ La’el Collins punch to protect QB Dak Prescott lead to suspension?

If you rewind to last season, quarterback Andy Dalton was playing for an injured Prescott. In a game also against WFT, a dirty hit knocked Dalton out of the game. As Dalton lay there concussed, the linemen that were in charge of protecting Dalton chose NOT to interject. Even though Collins had to watch that game from home, he expressed his clear disappointment about that situation, as well.

Giants place Kadarius Toney on Reserve/COVID-19 list after positive test - Ryan Morik, SNY

The player that gashed the Cowboys last time may not be available this weekend.

Toney probably had a better chance to return from those injuries against the Dallas Cowboys this week, but now he’ll have to have two negative tests before Sunday in order to play.

The 20th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft has 35 catches for 392 yards in nine games played - 189 of those yards came against the Cowboys.

The Giants learned of Toney’s test results on the plane back to east coast on Monday, a source told SNY NFL Insider Ralph Vacchiano. Toney is vaccinated, said the source, and everyone on the flight was masked, per NFL rules.

Vacchiano also notes that the team is conducting contact tracing to determine potential close contacts.

Toney tested positive for COVID-19 back in July, as well, and missed five days of action, so it’s not a definite that he’ll miss Sunday’s game due to the virus. But his oblique injury still will play a role.

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons says ‘I don’t think the NFL is hard’ but adds it’s mostly due to teammates, preparation - Patrik Walker, CBSSports

The rookie is certainly showing all aspects of his game.

His latest victim was the Washington Football Team and quarterback Taylor Heinicke, whose introduction to Parsons came swiftly — in the first quarter — and ended with a face full of grass and a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Dorance Armstrong for a Cowboys touchdown. It marked the 11th (!!) sack of the season for Parsons, and he wasn’t done there. He’d go on to put hands on Heinicke a second time, this time in the second quarter, upping his sack tally to 12 through the first 13 games of his NFL career.

But wait, there’s more.

It’s what the rookie first-round pick has done since Week 9 that truly blows the mind, with Parsons having delivered 9.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in his last six games — the most in the NFL in each category (t-1st in forced fumbles) — and he hasn’t played 100% of defensive snaps in any single game yet this season. That’s an unfathomable level of efficiency, and despite being flexed regularly from linebacker (base) to defensive end (secondary).

Already dominating earlier this season, and stepping up to become the hero in the absence of player of All-Pro pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and other starting defensive linemen Randy Gregory and Neville Gallimore, Parsons found a way to not only turn things up after the Week 7 bye — he’s breaking off the knob entirely.

Mike McCarthy: Tyron Smith will not play against New York Giants, Cedrick Wilson on COVID list - RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

The injury bug strikes Tyron Smith once again and Covid rears it’s ugly head again.

The Dallas Cowboys are one day removed from their road win against the Washington Football Team and have one game left away from AT&T Stadium to complete their three-game trip. Sunday will see the team visit the New York Giants as Dallas will finish a series against a division rival for the first time this season, and it is a week where the Cowboys can just about clinch the NFC East for all intents and purposes.

That will, of course, require a win which is never easy as this is a road game against a division rival. The New York Giants are down this season, but we already know that the Cowboys are going to be without one of their best players. Mike McCarthy noted on Monday that Tyron Smith will not play. He also added that Cedrick Wilson is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.