ARLINGTON, Texas — There is a saying in sports that teams often “play the way they train.”
Perhaps that was the case with the Cowboys, especially Dak Prescott, who admitted he didn’t have his best practice on Thursday, leading to an inconsistent day for the offense.
This continued on Sunday, as the Cowboys struggled in the first three quarters of the game in the Ravens’ 28-25 win.
“I didn’t have a good practice. I think it was Thursday. I even told Coach (Mike McCarthy) that I feel better when I’m alone. I can control it, I can get over it. I’m going to make that change and make that difference,” Prescott said. “But it’s also that feeling of making sure other people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Making sure other people, myself included, aren’t thinking about a practice rep.”
The Cowboys scored 19 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a completely unhindered passing attack that took advantage of the Ravens’ weak defense.
But quarterback Dak Prescott took the podium at the postgame press conference and focused on the early part of the game.
“We started late … that’s the biggest part of it,” Prescott said. “The penalties, some mistakes, whether it was alignment or assignments … we need to be cleaner. We need to focus and be more focused on our jobs and take responsibility.”
Dak is referring to the things they did – or didn’t do – in the first three quarters that only resulted in six points and gave the Ravens a comfortable 28-6 lead.
Prescott even said the offense needed a more “professional” approach in preparing for these games.
Responding to the team’s lack of professionalism, Prescott said:
“Yeah, by knowing where to be. You’ve got to know your reads, you’ve got to know where to line up, you’ve got to know your routes — adjustments versus certain coverages,” Prescott said. “Being a professional is about doing your job and being prepared for every part of the job. So time away from the building to be in the building, just being a professional and understanding that you can only do so many reps of practice, but you can watch the film, you can do all these other things that help make up for it. And we just have to be more focused. And that’s what I see on offense. We weren’t as focused as we should be. We made a couple mental mistakes that were key. And for me, it’s just about being professional and understanding what you have to do.”
