Cowboys’ Dak Prescott rallies behind Brett Maher after sideline outburst vs Bucs

The Dallas Cowboys put together their best performance of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.

The biggest takeaway, of course, was Dak Prescott’s performance after he was subject to (deserved) criticism all week after a subpar Week 18 performance. Not far behind, though, was Brett Maher and his four missed extra points.

It was a tough watch. Maher had been nails all year for the Cowboys and was objectively one of the five best kickers in the league. For whatever reason, though, Maher melted down on the biggest stage. It was so bad Mike McCarthy went for a 4th and 4 deep in Bucs territory instead of kicking a field goal.

That decision paid off in the form of a CeeDee Lamb touchdown, but Maher is a huge talking point going into the Divisional Round. It’s unclear if Dallas will bring in a free agent for insurance purposes, but nobody would bat an eye if the veteran lost his job after he was on the wrong side of history.

Regardless of what happens, the Cowboys are rallying behind Maher after his meltdown, and Prescott led this charge postgame.

That speaks volumes given Prescott’s sideline outburst after Maher’s second missed extra point that limited Dallas’ lead to 12-0.

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott went to bat for Brett Maher after the kicker’s meltdown vs the Buccaneers.

Prescott wears his emotion on his sleeve, but you seldom see him lose his temper to this degree. Even after throwing interceptions, the quarterback keeps a cool head. It speaks to his ability to bounce back from turnovers.

With that said, Prescott knew what was on the line Monday night, and who was on the opposing sideline. The Cowboys could’t afford to leave any points on the board against Tom Brady. What should’ve been a 14-0 lead was 12-0. What should’ve been a 21-0 lead was 18-0 after Maher’s third miss, and so on.

Brady can typically make up a two-touchdown deficit in minutes. While Prescott’s frustration stemmed from the decision not to go for two on Maher’s second gaffe, he was clearly annoyed with the kicker’s performance.

After the win — when Prescott’s adrenaline died down — he preached confidence in his slumping teammate the only way he knows how: acknowledging his own past poor performances.

Check out this clip, Cowboys fans.

It simply does not get better than that. This is who Prescott is. Accountable. A leader of men. And an awesome teammate in the face of adversity.

Who knows what the future holds for Maher, but comments like this suggest the Cowboys might just keep the faith in their kicker.

3 kickers Cowboys must sign immediately after Brett Maher’s nightmare

Brett Maher had the worst night of his NFL career Monday night, and the Cowboys need to look into signing these kickers for the Divisional Round.