Trip to Super Bowl LI for Cowboys' Dak Prescott adds to his motivation
FRISCO, Texas — A few days before Super Bowl LI, Dak Prescott found himself in Houston’s NRG Stadium at an event for Pepsi.
He looked around, taking mental notes, thinking one day he would be in a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.
“It just ignites a little fire in me and makes me want to get back to work faster,” Prescott said.
Fifty weeks ago, the Cowboys introduced themselves to Prescott for the first time at the Senior Bowl. He was one of the South team’s quarterbacks. The Cowboys’ staff was coaching the North. As much as the coaches liked Prescott, he was still their seventh-rated quarterback in the draft.
They tried to trade back into the first round to take Paxton Lynch. They traded to move up to take Connor Cook earlier in the fourth round. With their first of two fourth-round picks, they took Charles Tapper. They didn’t take Prescott until the 135th overall pick, a compensatory selection in the fourth round.
As he accepted the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year Award this past Saturday, he thanked 31 other teams for passing on him. Later as he met the media, he amended the statement.
“Actually 32 teams passed up on me three times, so the Cowboys just … they got lucky,” Prescott joked.
But that Prescott went late in the fourth round was more of a motivator than he let on during the season.
The quarterback that won Super Bowl LI a few days after Prescott stepped on NRG Stadium’s field, Tom Brady, has carried his draft-day scars with him since 2000. Even with his fifth Super Bowl win, “The Brady 6,” still drives him.
In 2000, there were six quarterbacks selected before the Patriots took Brady with the 199th selection: Chad Pennington (No. 18, Jets), Giovanni Carmazzi (65, 49ers), Chris Redman (75, Ravens), Tee Martin (163, Steelers), Marc Bulger (168, Saints) and Spergon Wynn (183, Browns).
“The Brady 6” became noteworthy because of Brady’s Super Bowl success.
One day, perhaps “The Prescott 7” — Jared Goff (No. 1, Rams), Carson Wentz (No. 2, Eagles), Lynch (No. 26, Broncos), Christian Hackenberg (No. 51, Jets), Jacoby Brissett (No. 91, Patriots), Cody Kessler (No. 93, Browns) and Cook (No. 100, Raiders) — will be as noteworthy.
Being selected with the 135th pick, “just allowed the chip to grow,” Prescott said. “It’s hard for me to say there’s 134 people better than me in this [draft]. It’s hard for me to say seven other quarterbacks that are better than me. So you just sit down, watch that, expecting to go a lot higher than I did, which allowed the chip on my shoulder to grow. I go out there each and every day remembering that, trying to prove my worth in practice, in the weight room and in the games on Sunday.”
As has been chronicled over and over, Prescott’s rookie season was nothing short of phenomenal. His Rookie of the Year Award speaks to the recognition of his 23 touchdown passes and just four interceptions and most importantly, the Cowboys’ 13-3 record.
“I can’t say it’s unbelievable just for the simple fact that I have confidence in myself,” Prescott said. “I have high expectations for myself. I believe in myself, I think, when no one else does. It’s just hard work paying off and having faith in myself, faith in my teammates, coaches, the guys that gave me that opportunity.”
When he was asked about his favorite moment from his rookie season, he picked what was arguably his worst game. He completed just 48.7 percent of his passes in the Oct. 30 meeting against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. He was off for most of the game.
But when it mattered most, late in the fourth quarter, he found his rhythm and carried that to overtime in which he scrambled out of trouble and found Jason Witten for a winning touchdown.
“I hadn’t thrown Witten a touchdown all year long,” Prescott said. “That was the game he broke the record for starters. To get that touchdown to Witten, a guy I respect so much, that’s made me a better player; that was a special moment for me.”
He will head down to Orlando, Florida, to train, like he did for the scouting combine, and then begin taking part in the optional workouts at The Star in March.
His time inside NRG Stadium will serve as motivation.
“It allows the chip to grow again,” he said.
