While the Dallas Cowboys defense heats up behind top Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Micah Parsons, the offense has hit a skid, struggling to move the ball consistently in recent weeks.
Dak Prescott had his worst game of the season -- and arguably the worst of his career -- in Sunday's win over the Washington Football Team, missing throws, tossing picks, and simply not playing very well.
Prescott completed 56.4 percent of 39 attempts for 211 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, as the Cowboys' offense found the end zone just once in a 27-20 victory.
Joining 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it's fair to characterize Prescott as being in a slump.
"I don't want to say (it's a) slump, but that's probably fair," Jones said, . "It's such a multifaceted evaluation. I would say that our offense is definitely away from where we were 5-6 weeks ago. ... Yes, he is (healthy). He'll figure it out."
On Monday, coach Mike McCarthy wouldn't go so far as to call Prescott's struggles a slump.
"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, these are things that we can improve. That's the goal for this week."
Whatever you want to call it, everyone in Dallas can admit that Prescott isn't playing to the lofty standards he's set for himself.
Since his return from a calf injury in Week 9, Prescott has an 82.8 passer rating, and the Cowboys have gone 3-3. Before the injury, the QB completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 302.2 yards per game, a 115.0 rating, and 16 TDs to 4 INTs. Since returning, he's completing 63.2% of his passes for 261.3 yards per game and an 8-6 TD-INT ratio.
That's not to suggest that Prescott is still hurt -- all accounts out of Dallas suggest he's got nothing more than your typical December sore. But for a multitude of reasons -- O-line struggles, lack of a running complement, simply poor QB decisions and bad throws -- Prescott hasn't played consistent football since his return.
Prescott has thrown multiple INTs in two of his last four games after having just two multiple-interception outings in his previous 32 games.
Luckily for Dallas, the defense has been there to cover up the offense's warts.
Heading into the final four weeks of the season and a likely postseason appearance, the Cowboys need both units to click, or Dallas will be swiftly ejected from the January tournament.
