National Football League

Dak Prescott on the peaking Cowboys: 'This team is hungry'

Updated Jan. 2, 2022 4:34 p.m. ET

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It's been a rollercoaster season for the Dallas Cowboys, filled with ups and downs and twists and turns.

Yet, despite the occasional struggles, the Cowboys entered Week 17 having clinched the NFC East crown, and at 11-4, they sat just one game behind the Green Bay Packers for the best record in the conference.

Dak Prescott has been at the center of all of it, and the Cowboys' quarterback sat down with Erin Andrews to share his thoughts on the season before Dallas' game Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Dak Prescott on the Cowboys' season

Dak Prescott sat down with Erin Andrews to talk about the Dallas Cowboys' early struggles this season and how they are clicking at the right time.

After opening the season with a loss to the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cowboys ripped off six straight victories, a run that included wins over the Chargers, Eagles, Patriots and Vikings. 

Prescott was dominant through his team's first six games, passing for 1,813 yards and 16 touchdowns, with a passer rating of 115.0. But then he injured his calf, missed a Week 8 win over the Vikings, and his season took a turn. Prescott returned to face the Broncos in Week 9 and struggled mightily in a 30-16 loss.

That was the start of a stretch in which the Cowboys dropped three of four and looked lost on offense.

"I think we didn't have the continuity," Prescott explained. "Whether it was changes up front, the offensive line, guys out, injuries. We had a couple of guys injured on the outside."

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Prescott didn't just blame injuries, though: "I wasn't playing my best ball on top of that."

But the quarterback said he didn't lose faith in his squad, instead continuing to prepare with confidence that his team would turn things around.

"I didn't blink," he said. "I didn't change anything that I was doing. Stuck to the way that I practiced, the way that I prepared. Just stick to it, and the storm will pass, and you'll get to the other side of it. 

"We're heading in the right direction, and this team is peaking at the right time."

The result has been a four-game winning streak, including last week's 56-14 dismantling of Washington. And in 14 games, Prescott has thrown for the second-highest yardage total of his career (3,928), is one touchdown away from matching his career-best (29) and has his best passer rating (100.5) since his rookie season.

With everything on the upswing in Dallas and the NFC East crown locked up, Cowboys fans might worry about a potential letdown in the final two weeks of the regular season. But Prescott believes his team is focused on living up to its lofty expectations.

"This team is hungry," he said. "This team is focused. We're going to continue to just lock arms, stay within the locker room, have high expectations and standards for ourselves and just focus on what's next."

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NFL - Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys - 01/02/2022

Erin Andrews