Dallas Cowboys: How clutch is Dak Prescott?

Dak Prescott has been in the news quite a bit this offseason because of his looming contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys and one point of emphasis for those who love Dak has been his performance in the 4th quarter…

Disclaimer: Dak haters beware, the information you see in this article is 100% factually correct and also passes the weird “eye test” y’all have come up with. To everyone else, please enjoy the following article.

The topic of Dak’s contract extension has been in the news for quite some time and there are three trains of thought: he’s deserving of the expected $30 million, he’s deserving of a second contract but not at $30 million per year, and he’s not deserving of another contract with the Dallas Cowboys. One point in particular brought up by both pro-contract sides is Dak’s play in the 4th quarter.

Before I dive into this case study, I’d like to define some terms. A fourth quarter comeback is when a team is down in points at the beginning of the fourth quarter or overtime, scores on offense, and ultimately wins the game. A game winning drive is a drive that consists of the offensive team scoring in the fourth quarter or overtime essentially putting them ahead for the last time.

It’s worth mentioning that you can have a game winning drive while still winning the game 35-14. The offensive team can break the tie in the 4th quarter and that is a game winning drive. You might notice this happen once or twice in the article.

In all, the point of today’s article is to find how Prescott’s performance changes once the clock strikes “15:00” in the 4th quarter. I looked back at all games where Dak was given a 4QC/GWD as well as other close games to see how he fared in all. I came to some interesting conclusions along the way.

So let’s dig in…