3 Cowboys players who need a big game against the Jaguars
Whew! The Dallas Cowboys escaped an almost embarrassing loss to the 1-11-1 Houston Texans at home on Sunday after entering the game as 17-point favorites.
Everything that could go wrong for the Cowboys went wrong for them in this game. From KaVontae Turpin’s fumble on a punt to Dak Prescott throwing two picks of his own to playing down their competition really made this game much closer than many people anticipated.
Actually, the Texans controlled the majority of the game after Turpin fumbled in the first quarter. When it mattered most, though, the Cowboys came up big.
First, on the defensive side, Dallas made a crucial stop after Prescott threw an interception to set up the Texans inside the five with seven minutes remaining. The Cowboys’ defense stopped Houston on four straight plays, including a game-saving tackle on fourth down from Anthony Barr.
Jerry Jones on Cowboys D goal-line stand: "To me, and I want to burn this in our head because that’s the way I feel about it, I see one of the best & most momentous goal-line stands that I can remember by our defense. Stopped them against high odds."pic.twitter.com/Hq0QFFeLZM
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 13, 2022
Then, Prescott did what the Cowboys paid him $40 million per season to do. He led an impressive 11-play, 98-yard drive that was capped off by an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown.
It wasn’t pretty for the Cowboys, but they got the job done. They pushed their record to 10-3 on the season, but still trail the Eagles by two games in the NFC East.
And while Dallas has that rematch with the Eagles in Week 16 circled on their calendar, they can’t overlook the Jaguars this upcoming week. Jacksonville is coming off one of their best wins of the season on the road against the Titans.
There’s no doubt that the Cowboys are a better team, but this can surely be a “trap” game with the Eagles game on their mind. This game on Sunday is also a great opportunity for certain players to carry momentum into that divisional clash on Christmas Eve.
Here are three players who need a big game against the Jaguars in Week 15.
3. Dak Prescott
Prescott has carried the Cowboys to some big offensive performances since his return from injury. Dallas scored 49 against the Bears in Week 8, 40 against the Vikings in Week 11 and a season-high 54 points against the Colts in Week 13.
But despite the big offensive numbers, Prescott has still found himself making mistakes; mistakes that can’t happen against a one-loss Eagles team.
Prescott has thrown five interceptions over the last three games, including two each in the win on Sunday and on Thanksgiving facing the Giants. He also has thrown seven interceptions in the past five games, something that Prescott hopes to “clean up.”
With a big matchup against the Eagles looming the following week, this Jagaurs game is a good opportunity for Prescott to “clean” up the interception problems and give the offense big momentum heading into Week 16.
The Eagles defense is no joke, especially through the air. They allow the fewest passing yards per game of anybody (178.7), so Prescott will need to be at his best in that one.
But first, the Cowboys need to take care of business against the Jaguars, and that starts with Prescott.