Aaron Rodgers torments Dak Prescott, Cowboys one more time in clutch moments

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Dak Prescott sat at his locker with his head down, thoughts to himself with a hurried scene unfolding in the Cowboys’ locker room.

It was nearly an hour after the Cowboys’ 31-28 overtime loss to the Packers that pushed the quarterback and his team into shock.

The Mike McCarthy revenge game went to the Packers as the man who helped McCarthy win a Super Bowl, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, tormented the Cowboys’ yet again.

Prescott is now 1-4 lifetime against Rodgers.

“It was just disappointing we didn’t take that step that we’ve talked about, laying another brick and just building on what we’ve built and building on what we accomplished to this point,” Prescott said. “Yeah, it was tough. It was a playoff environment. You want to go out there and you want to win, and all of them hurt when you don’t win.”

Quarterback wins and losses are basically an unfair statistic, but it’s kept because the position is paid the most and receives intense scrutiny.

For the discussions about McCarthy needing to win this game against his former team, so did Prescott. It’s not about Prescott needing to prove he’s an elite quarterback – because he is.

Yet, Prescott was outplayed by Rodgers.

The Packers’ quarterback completed just 14 of 20 passes for 224 yards with three touchdowns to rookie receiver Christian Watson.

Prescott needed 46 pass attempts just to reach 265 yards. He threw two interceptions, both the result of miscommunications with receiver CeeDee Lamb and tight end Dalton Schultz. There was Prescott yelling on the sidelines and then having a calm discussion with Lamb later in the game. Lamb was fantastic with career-highs in catches (11) and yards (150). When it counted, Prescott couldn’t connect with Lamb on a third and three in overtime, as Packers corner Jaire Alexander got away with some early contact on a Prescott throw.

With the game basically on the line, McCarthy elected to go for it on fourth and three over a 53-yard field goal try. Prescott couldn’t complete a pass to running back Tony Pollard into the flat as defensive end Jarran Reed was bringing him down to the ground.

“Got the shot that we wanted to CeeDee, close call, a bang, bang play,” Prescott said. “Didn’t get it. Go for it on fourth down, they get a good rush. I tried to step up and they grabbed me and I was just able to get it out and make a play and they were better in that moment.”

Prescott was forced to watch Rodgers take advantage of rookie corner DaRon Bland slipping on the grass allowing receiver Allen Lazard to get free for a 36-yard gain that eventually set up the game-winning field goal from kicker Mason Crosby.

Prescott’s day was over after he threw three touchdowns over 27 completions with a 78.6 quarterback rating along with the two picks. When Prescott throws multiple interceptions in a game, his career record is 3-11.

It’s hard to win football games when you throw multiple picks, yet, Prescott and his team held a commanding 14-point edge over the Packers in the second half.

There was a chance for the Cowboys to end the horror that Rodgers places on them in the second half. Of course, the Cowboys’ defense, praised for the pass rush, allowed an ungodly 207 rushing yards.

You can’t blame that on Prescott.

You also can’t blame Prescott for rookie receiver Jalen Tolbert lining up offsides from the slot in overtime on a second and three from the Packers 46. Prescott was able to overcome the penalty with a nine-yard pass to Pollard but Malik Davis had 16-yard gain wiped out as guard Connor McGovern was called for holding defensive end Dean Lowry. Prescott bailed his team out again, this time with a 16-yard pass to Schultz.

Prescott needed a little more magic in the cold weather of Lambeau Field and couldn’t get it.

All he could do was watch Rodgers take his team down the field and set up the game-winning field goal.

“Every loss is disappointing,” Prescott said. “To me, I hate to lose. When someone says it’s one game, I don’t care if its practice, it doesn’t feel good to me. I hate it, that’s who I am. That’s not going to change. For us, it’s about, yeah, moving on, honestly. Making sure we get in tomorrow and that we’re focused. We diagnosed these things the right way and turn the page.”

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.