Cowboys $240 Million QB Dak Prescott Receives Shocking Week 1 Grade
The first week of the NFL regular season was an absolute movie for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott — one that began with “Spitgate” and ended with a thrilling, 24-20 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
In between all of that, Prescott played his position just about as well as anyone in the NFL.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski made Prescott one of just 6 quarterbacks to receive an “A” grade or higher in Week 1 — and the only one who earned the grade despite a loss.
The Cowboys very well could have come out with the win if not for a trio of uncharacteristic drops from NFL All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the second half.
Prescott, who missed 9 games in 2024 with a hamstring injury, finished 21-of-34 passing for 188 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions but was also brilliant in the pocket against one of the NFL’s top defense and didn’t take a single sack.
“All of the hullabaloo aside … quarterback Dak Prescott played as well as anyone could have expected in the Dallas Cowboys’ season opener,” Sobleski wrote on September 9. “However, his teammates didn’t help as much as they should have. CeeDee Lamb is one of the league’s best wide receivers. But three official drops, not including a fourth where he could have made a diving grab, all but sealed Dallas’ defeat at the hands of the rival Eagles … Prescott just needs to keep playing the same way he did in Week 1 and good things should start to happen for the Cowboys.”
Preseason Overshadowed By Parsons Soap Opera
Prescott and every other player on the Cowboys roster faded into the background during the preseason thanks to the epic soap opera drama between former edge rusher Micah Parsons and owner Jerry Jones.
There may have been an unseen benefit for Prescott. Were the Parsons drama not to have played out like it did, there’s a world in which the entire preseason’s top storyline would have been how Prescott, the NFL’s highest paid player at $60 million per year, has continued to fail to bring his team to the next level.
By the time Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers on August 28, the regular season was all but upon us and all Prescott had left to do was play.
Not Considered NFL Top 10 Quarterback
If you want to know the esteem in which Prescott was held in the eyes of NFL executives, coaches and scouts headed into 2025, just take one look at ESPN’s annual preseason position rankings.
Prescott, who was NFL Most Valuable Player runner-up and an NFL All-Pro in 2023, wasn’t just completely left out of the Top 10. He was also left off one of the 2 honorable mention slots and relegated to the “others receiving votes” category.
Within his own division, Prescott is no longer even looked at as elite. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 — the same award Prescott won in 2016.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts capped his year by being named Super Bowl MVP after a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Texans Planning Bigger Role for Nick Chubb
Expect to see some more Nick Chubb in the Houston Texans' offense after a solid Week 1 showing.
Following Houston's season opener loss vs. the LA Rams, 9-14, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was still impressed by what he saw from Chubb in his debut since signing in June. In all, Chubb finished with 13 carries for 60 yards on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards a carry and leading the way in touches throughout the running back room.
And moving forward into the year, Ryans says he wants to lean on Chubb a bit more in the backfield.
"I think Chubb ran the ball really well," Ryans said in an interview with Texans Radio. "We tried to mix it up with the backs– got Woody some touches, Dameon [Pierce]– we're going to try to lean in with Chubb a little bit more."
"He deserves it. He’s shown that he continues to get better as the game went on. You saw him running stronger, finishing plays in a physical manner. So, we've got to get him going a little bit more, and I think he can really help us."
Chubb has seemingly made a super strong impression in the Texans' building since arriving on his one-year, $5 million deal in the offseason, and without Joe Mixon in the fold as he deals with a foot injury that has placed him on the Injured Reserve for at least the first four weeks of the year, the door has opened for Chubb to have some major responsibility in this scoring unit.
Chubb sits in the Texans' running back room alongside veteran Dameon Pierce, rookie Woody Marks, and team captain Dare Ogunbowale to share the workload with– certainly a group that faced a fair share of questions before the season, of just how the responsibilities would be divided in the backfield.
But, as Chubb continues to prove he's healthy from last season and the most productive guy in the room, Ryans clearly wants to get the ball in his hands in the run game while they deal with Mixon's absence– however long that may be– and bank on his physicality and consistent improvements to be a driving force in their work on the ground.
Chubb has reportedly been consistent and hard-working for the Texans dating back to training camp, has clear respect in the locker room from teammates and the coaching staff, and of course, has a proven track record in the league of being one of the better runners of the football in recent history while at his peak production.
That doesn't mean you won't see guys like Pierce, Marks, and Ogunbowale get some occasional reps their way as well, but if Ryans' comments prove true, we could very well be looking at the start of Chubb being a real bellcow in Houston.
