Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t mince words following his team’s latest defensive collapse. The Cowboys went down 30-27 to the less-fancied Carolina Panthers on Sunday, leaving the team with a 2-3-1 record this season.
After yet another shaky performance, a frustrated Prescott said, “It’s a team game. You’ve got to trust the other side. Unfortunately we just didn’t get it back.”
His pointed critique of the defense arrived just before ex-Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle aimed a thinly veiled dig at his former team: “They wasn’t buckled up.”
Dowdle’s brief but bold message underscores a mounting tension in Dallas, where Prescott’s mounting expectations collide with a defense that’s repeatedly failed to hold up its end. The result: internal discord made public.
Prescott’s frustration hits open mic
Prescott‘s postgame remarks painted a clear picture: he’s done covering for the defense. In a locker room already under fire, his tone suggested impatience and a desire for accountability.
The Cowboys’ offense has still produced, and Dak’s play remains strong. But his trust in the unit meant to protect that play has eroded, especially after their rare 40-40 draw in NFL Week 5.
Prescott also brushed off Dowdle‘s “buckled up” jab by cracking a joke in an interview: “We have to – we’re getting on a plane.”
The lighthearted reply masked deeper concern, though, as Dallas’ run defense ranks among the worst in the league. Dowdle‘s comments are hardly surprising given that he now faces the very team that cut him-and one that’s struggled to stop backs all year.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer joined Prescott in the show of awareness. He echoed the message: “We’re gonna have our seatbelts, Rico. We’ll buckle up. Can’t wait to see him, though.”
The playmaking and bravado are there, but so is the pressure to tighten the defense or face more criticism.
Dowdle twists the knife against former team
Meanwhile, Dowdle‘s resurgence has added fuel. After leaving Dallas and signing with the Panthers, he exploded for 206 rushing yards and a touchdown in their Week 5 upset over Miami.
That kind of performance-and the narrative it fuels-makes his warning all the more pointed. It’s an ugly but inevitable moment: when stars speak, the rest of the roster becomes the target.
Prescott‘s patience seems strained, and the defense’s response had better be more than just apology or affirmation.
In a league where matchups and momentum matter, the Cowboys‘ credibility now rests on whether the defense can stop being the liability Prescott warns of-and whether Dowdle‘s jab will end up as prophecy.
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