Prescott finally puts to rest Romo's chances of regaining job
Surely, he wouldn't win on the road at Lambeau Field. But then he did.
Surely, he couldn't beat the Steelers in the cold in November. Then he did.
Surely, he wouldn't win a 10th, and then an 11th straight game. However, he did.
Surely, he couldn't bring the Cowboys back from down 28-13 against a scorching-hot Aaron Rodgers in his first career playoff game. But, then he did.
Dak Prescott was counted out at almost every turn. The fourth-round draft choice stunned the league by producing one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history. His miraculous year may have come to an end after Sunday's divisional playoff game loss to the Green Bay Packers, but also coming to a close was any talk of Tony Romo ever succeeding him as the Cowboys' quarterback.
In his first-ever playoff game, Prescott completed 24 of his 38 passes for 302 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. More importantly, he pulled Dallas back into the game when it appeared early on that Green Bay would run the Cowboys out of the building.
The Packers led 21-3 late in the second quarter and also held the aforementioned 28-13 advantage. Even Cowboys observers seemed to suggest that Romo might be the better quarterback to lead Dallas back from such a deficit.
Head coach Jason Garrett stuck with the roster that got him to the 13-3 season and No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, however, and Prescott repaid his coach for his faith in him.
As part of the Cowboys' comeback, Prescott threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dez Bryant with little more than five minutes left in the game and then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the score at 28-28. Regardless of the final outcome, with that come-from-behind performance, Dak finally put to bed any talk of Romo ever replacing him.
"He was fantastic," Garrett said after the game. "I thought he handled the situation well. When you're down 21-3, it's easy to start getting out of yourself and doing things that are uncharacteristic.
"In so many ways, it was positive. Not the ideal start, but again, the guys battled back and demonstrated who they are."
Romo is set to make $14 million next year as a 36-year-old coming off multiple back surgeries. His salary would come at a cap hit of $24.7 million.
Prescott's performance through 17 games in his first season has made Romo an expensive and expendable backup.
Whether owner Jerry Jones convinces Romo to stay with the team on a reduced salary next year, Prescott has earned the right to lead this era of the Dallas Cowboys without having to look over his shoulder. Now and into the future.