Sunday was the perfect example of why wins are a terrible measuring stick for quarterbacks. Heck, the entire Dallas Cowboys season so far is exactly why wins shouldn't be used in QB debates.
Just looking at the Cowboys' 2-3-1 record, one could assume that Dak Prescott isn't having a great season. That couldn't be any farther from the truth. Prescott was excellent again against the Carolina Panthers, completing 25 of 34 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. But it didn't matter because Dallas' defense gave up 30 points again.
Despite being screwed over by his defense yet again, Prescott preached confidence in his team during his postgame availability. While Prescott said all of the right things, it's nothing that Cowboys fans wanted to hear after a loss that could decide the team's playoff fate in two months.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is confident the defense will get back on track
"If we don't score, last thing I'm going is being frustrated at the defense," Prescott said. "That's my problem, somebody on offense, or something that we didn't do better."
Here's what Prescott said when he was asked why he's confident the defense can turn it around:
"That we go against them every day [in practice]," Prescott said. "It's an iron sharpens iron mentality. I understand the players and pieces they have over there. You see them getting better. They're getting better."
No quarterback in the NFL is better behind the mic than Prescott. He always takes the high road and finds a way to hold himself accountable, regardless of whether he is at fault for a loss.
Throwing the defense under the bus would only exacerbate the problem, but nobody wants to hear anybody defending that side of the ball. Especially not Prescott after he put up 27 points. And especially not after the Cowboys punted the ball to one of the least intimidating offenses in the NFL with 6:07 left in the game and didn't get the ball back. That's more embarrassing than any stat that paints Dallas as the worst defense in football.
Prescott and the offense indeed went three-and-out before punting to Carolina, but the Cowboys' current formula for winning requires the offense to be perfect, even against a Panthers team that will be lucky to finish the season with eight wins. The offense doesn't have a margin for error. If it did, the Cowboys would've lost to the Giants and Packers.
There is something to be said about Prescott holding himself and the offense accountable instead of pointing the finger at the defense. It's what makes him such a great leader. He was put into a tough spot by being asked about his confidence in the defense, but they are not getting better. They're getting worse, and the schedule only gets tougher from here.