Dak Prescott was genuinely surprised. His eyebrows raised when told of Jerry Jones’ postgame comments.
The franchise quarterback was standing at a podium outside of the team’s AT&T Stadium locker room, fielding his final question after the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Los Angeles Rams 43-20 Sunday afternoon. When it was explained to him that Jones didn’t want to comment about the upcoming game against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, Prescott responded: “I don’t believe what you just said.”
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Jones, who is usually not shy about commenting on any topic, responded after the win over the Rams: “Let’s soak this one up. I don’t want to do anything to poke the bear.”
After pausing for a second, Prescott smiled and responded to Jones’ quote by saying: “Pour honey on me. I always say that. If you see me and a bear in a fight, pour honey on me.”
It was interesting to witness the contrast in the two responses, about 30 minutes apart. On one hand, there was a superstitious team owner. On the other, a confident franchise QB coming off a second consecutive strong showing on the field.
While Prescott’s competitiveness had him joking about fighting bears, he made it clear that he will be embracing all of the hype going into Sunday’s 3:25 p.m. CT game at Philadelphia. The defending NFC champion Eagles have the NFL’s best record at 7-1. The Cowboys enter at 5-2, needing a win to keep things tight in the NFC East race. Considering that both look like good bets to make the playoffs, this could be the first of three meetings this season. The Eagles opened as 3-point favorites.
“Whether we talk or not, we know what’s ahead of us,” Prescott said. “Great opponent, excited for it. Obviously an opponent that we’re familiar with, vice versa. I mean, I know you (reporters) are going to build it up. Obviously, that’s a part of your job, and as you should in a big game like this. Big, big, big rival. Division game. Obviously down the road, this game means something, and it will mean something as we get further down the line in the season. Trust me, the guys in the locker room, myself, we know what this game means.”
It wasn’t too long ago when the Cowboys were faced with a similar noteworthy opponent in a measuring stick game. There was just as much hype, and maybe more, a month ago as Dallas was preparing to travel to San Francisco and play a 49ers team responsible for knocking the Cowboys out of the playoffs the previous two seasons. Dallas turned in one of its ugliest performances in recent memory and Prescott played one of the worst games of his career, throwing three interceptions in the 42-10 loss.
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That result was unquestionably a factor in Jones choosing to be careful with his words after Sunday’s second consecutive win since the loss at San Francisco.
“We’re not going to compare this to (three) weeks ago,” Prescott said. “Obviously, yeah, we learned a lot about that, but in a sense, that’s apples and oranges. It’s a big game, but I don’t for a second even want to compare that, to be honest with you. I know the men that we have. I know how we’re going to prepare. I know how we’re going to approach the week. And yeah, it’s a matchup we’re looking forward to, I can promise you that, in Philly.”
What did Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy think about Prescott’s postgame comments?
“Honey bear? I heard half of it or something,” he joked. “He likes honey or something.”
And what about the media hype going into this Week 9 game against the defending NFC East champs?
“When is there not media hype around our team?” McCarthy asked in response. “I did not diagnose the week of the 49ers game as far as how we dealt with the media. I think our football team has to deal with this all the time.”
“I’m not really concerned about the media hype. It’s part of being a Dallas Cowboy.”
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The Cowboys split with the Eagles last season. Dallas lost at Philadelphia in Week 6, 26-17. Prescott did not play in that game because of a fractured right thumb. Eagles starting QB Jalen Hurts didn’t play in the Eagles’ 40-34 loss at Dallas in Week 16 because of a sprained throwing shoulder.
“We need to go in there and win a division game because these division games are really like a game and a half in some ways,” McCarthy said. “Your division games are always your most important. They are always your hardest games. Every division I’ve ever been in the league, the AFC West, the NFC North, those are your toughest games. And this is going to be a tough game. It’s a tough game we need to prepare to go win.”
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Prescott has won his last three starts against the Eagles. In their most recent meeting, he completed 27-of-35 passes for 347 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 124.3 passer rating. He also ran six times for 41 yards, his largest rushing total since the 2019 season.
“Anytime you go to Philly, it makes it just a little bit more, you know, a little bit more fun,” Prescott said. “So, excited for it.”
McCarthy called Philadelphia a unique place to play. Why?
“Friendly people,” he responded.
Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons believes the Eagles are the NFL’s best team with the league’s most talented roster.
“But at the end of the day, you still have to go out there and execute,” he said Monday on his weekly Bleacher Report podcast. “It’s going to be a great game. I’m not giving them no firepower. I just want to go out there, line up and have a great game. May the best man win.”
(Photo of Dak Prescott: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
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