FOXBORO, Mass. — It’s not rare for Bill Belichick to rave about an opposing quarterback, but he had especially high praise Wednesday for Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott.
The New England Patriots head coach lauded Prescott’s talents throughout his 20-minute-long afternoon news conference, calling him “super impressive.”
“I mean, this guy can throw the ball,” said Belichick, whose team is preparing to host the Cowboys on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. “He’s very accurate. He’s got great poise in the pocket. Stands in there. He can extend plays and run if he has to, but he doesn’t do much of that unless he really needs to. He has great patience. Poise, discipline in the pocket, gets his eyes downfield. He’s a very good intermediate-to-deep-ball thrower.
“He’s got good weapons, but he’s been super impressive. Just a great, great quarterback. Sideline throws. Inside throws. In-cuts. Posts. Over routes. Flag routes. You name it. Possession passes on third down. Best third-down team in the league. Best passing team in the league. Most big plays in the league. Where do you want to start? They do it all — and he does it all.”
Since the Patriots and Cowboys have not squared off since Prescott entered the NFL in 2016, Belichick said he hasn’t closely studied the QB’s pro career. New England did evaluate Prescott when he was a draft prospect, however, before ultimately selecting Jacoby Brissett in the third round.
Prescott went to the Cowboys one round later and proceeded to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“Yeah, we did work on him,” Belichick said. “We do some work on everybody. We used to hit those Mississippi State guys pretty good. We have a lot of connections down there. He had a great college career. He’s certainly having a great pro career. He’s having a great year this year. It’s hard seeing anybody playing much better than him. This guy’s tough.”
Prescott leads all NFL QBs with 3,221 passing yards this season — less than 600 shy of his career high with six games still to go — and is tied for second behind Russell Wilson with 21 touchdown passes. His yards-per-attempt average of 8.8 also leads the league, and he steers one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses.
With an array of offensive weapons that includes running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receivers Amari Cooper, Randall Cobb and Michael Gallop, the Cowboys rank first in total offense, fourth in points per game and first in Football Outsiders’ offense DVOA.
“They really do everything well,” Belichick said. “They create a lot of problems in all three phases of the game. Very well-coached. Have great players. Great personnel. Good situational football team. Very explosive team. They put a lot of pressure on you on every single down.
“This will be a big challenge for us. (They’re) a team that we don’t have much experience with. We’re getting to know them quickly, and they certainly present a lot of problems from a preparation standpoint and, I would say, from a matchup standpoint. (They’re a) real good football team. Very talented team.”
