QUARTERBACK DAK PRESCOTT
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 1, 2023
On how environment friendly the offense was once and the way it felt to in spite of everything get a purple zone ranking in on the finish…
“Yeah, [we were] pretty efficient but still not to our standard, honestly. To have as many opportunities as we had in the red zone and [just] have some field goals. I guess on that one fourth down over in the fringe, [we] didn’t convert on that. I had the one, just barely outside of that, to CeeDee [Lamb]. [It was] good to get a receiver a touchdown. A lot of good comes from it and a lot of great comes from it when you win a game 38 to 3. So, it’s a lot easier to get better with a win like this and a score like that.”
On the NFL’s purple zone having to be within the 20 and now not simply at the 20…
“Yeah, if it’s not inside of 20, it’s not the red zone. But, honestly, going into this game, [Brian] Schottenheimer actually told us that. For you to score, it’s going to have to be outside of the 20. It’s just really a credit to their defense, their scheme, and them trying to take away the best players once you get inside the red zone. So, he answered.”
On what it’s a couple of sport after a loss that brings out the most productive on this Cowboys group in the previous couple of seasons…
“We want to stay out of those situations. [We would] much rather just be coming off a win and going to get another win. But, it just allows us to refocus. A lot of those in the last three seasons, from the top of my head, are humbling losses or games that we shouldn’t have lost. [They were] the games that we let get away from us at the end. Yeah, it’s a reset thing. It’s everybody coming in with a sharp focus. It’s what you expect when you have the leadership that we have, the coaches that we have with the experience that they’ve had, and just for us to lock in and really pay attention to who we are and what’s the purpose of our mission. I don’t want to say it’s easy. It’s never easy winning in this league. But, when all of the guys are locked in and focused on what they have to do, you get games like that.”
On TE Jake Ferguson’s 2d 12 months leap and the way their chemistry has been coming in this 12 months…
“It’s no surprise to me as [he is] a guy that loves the game of football. Not many people in that locker room love the game more than Ferg does. He shows it each and every day with his preparation, with the way that he approaches practice, and the extra time he spends on the film working with Coach [Lunda] Wells. It’s no surprise and it’s only going to get better. He’s a guy that has confidence through the roof. Obviously, you could throw into tight windows and he’s going to come down with the catch. He may take a hit, but he’s going to get up and let the guy know that it wasn’t anything. You know what I mean? [He’s a] very physical player and plays with a lot of energy. He’s really just scratching the surface to a long successful career for him.”
On if the purple zone struggles may also be attributed to the Texas Coast Offense…
“Someone’s got to get better at it. We won 38 to 3 so I’m not going to sit here and harp on that. But, that definitely gives us something to work on. Obviously, coming into this game, I talked about it about two weeks ago, before we won that game, the last game here against New York ,that we could have been better in the red zone. So, it’s an area that we are going to continue to focus on and we’re going to try to get better at it and when we do, it’s going to be dangerous.”
On WR CeeDee Lamb’s landing after New England’s CB Christian Gonzalez went out…
“We went into the timeout break because New England’s Gonzalez got hurt. Coming out of that, we had a great play design. We expected them to go into a shell look or play it soft. I was surprised, to say the least, when they went man-to-man and allowed CeeDee to be one-on-one.”
On the expansion of DaRon Bland…
“That’s a guy that works his tail off and practices just as hard. He’s one of the best guys to have at practice, no matter what he’s doing or whatever look he’s trying to give. When we’re going against him one-on-one, he makes it tough for everybody. He’s a hell of a player and it’s paying off on Sundays. He had a great rookie year last year. Coming into this year, he hasn’t missed a beat and continues to get better.”
On the back-to-back rankings by means of Vander Esch and Bland…
“Just to sit back and watch the defense do that, it’s awesome. It makes my job a lot easier. Trust me, I love to be able to go out there and throw over and over and be back and forth, but I sit back and cross my legs for five or six minutes to allow me to get on offense. But if they want to score, keep doing it.”
On his mirrored image of Bland all the way through coaching camp his rookie season…
“When you look at DBs and practice against them, it’s the confidence. It’s the guys that really take chances, especially when they’re younger. They’re trusting what they see, trusting their eyes, trusting their coach, and jumping routes. He was doing that during practice and doing that early in his time as a rookie. He got me a couple of times. There was no hesitation in it. That’s where you say that’s a guy who is always in the right spot and believing what he’s being coached and playing off of instincts. I hate to call someone a natural – makes it seem like they don’t put in the work – but he’s doing everything the right way and he’s only going to get better.”
On his ideas of Zeke Elliott’s homecoming and the tribute…
“I didn’t see him last night. I talked to him after the game. I’m sure that he liked the tribute. I loved the tribute. Thought it was pretty cool. We’ll connect, we’ll talk. Our relationship is much bigger than the game of football and especially with this game and him coming back. It was pretty cool just to see how Jerry and the Cowboys planned that video for him. Giving him the respect and the honor he deserves. He had a great seven years here. I wouldn’t be the player that I am without him. Wouldn’t have the success that we had in those seven years without that guy.”
On the significance of this night’s win in preparation for San Francisco…
“This is a week-by-week basis, this focus of this team. This week’s preparation had nothing to do with San Fran coming up. Now that we got this game out of the way, we’re focused. We did what we were supposed to do and what we wanted to do. Capitalized on our game plan and getting back to things that work and allowing our defense to go hunt with the lead. Now it’s about turning the page and studying the hell out of these guys [San Francisco]. Understanding who they’ve been and what this matchup has been the past couple of years. I’ve played them in the playoffs and we understand it’s a team that if we get to where we want to get, we have to play them again, come playoffs. I look forward to the matchup and turning the page tomorrow morning and coming up with a great gameplan.”
On the sour feeling that he had after closing 12 months’s loss…
“We’re so far past that, to be honest. It’s obvious.”
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