Dak Prescott has played enough football to recognize greatness when he’s preparing for it, and as the Dallas Cowboys turn the page toward their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, he didn’t bother hiding the respect he carries for Patrick Mahomes.
The admiration came out the way it often does when one elite quarterback watches another and understands what he’s looking at.
“Everything in his game,” Prescott said when asked what stands out. “The way he plays it, at the end of the day, obviously talent jumps out, but you watch a guy who plays with pure passion, who’ll do anything it takes to win.”
That’s Dak being honest, not dramatic. Anyone who’s watched Mahomes long enough probably arrives at the same conclusion eventually.
His ability to extend plays, to throw on the move without losing touch, and to gamble in moments where most quarterbacks wouldn’t even try. Prescott didn’t dance around that part either.
“He does it all right. What I respect most is just his will to win, you see it, he’ll do anything and everything it takes,” he added.
Through 11 games, Mahomes has put up the kind of numbers that look familiar for him: 2,977 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, seven picks, plus 318 rushing yards that often arrive when the Chiefs desperately need a broken play to become a first down.
A season that hasn’t followed the usual script
ESPN’s Dan Graziano didn’t shy away from that point in his assessment earlier this week. He framed Mahomes as the biggest variable in an AFC race that still feels wide open.
“Sticking with the star QB theme, what about Patrick Mahomes? This Chiefs team doesn’t seem to be any worse than last season’s was, yet the Chiefs‘ record is much worse because they’re 1-5 in one-score games this year (with the one win coming Sunday) after winning all of them last season,” Graziano wrote.
“Mahomes hasn’t been consistently accurate, and he hasn’t really delivered those magical, clutch moments that have always elevated Kansas City in the past. Obviously, he still has the ability to do that.
“If Mahomes helps the Chiefs regain their edge in the one-score games, they’re still a team to fear in the postseason, even if their nine-year AFC West title streak comes to an end.”
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