Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20
Q. Can you just talk about how frustrating it was to finally get back in the game and lose in that manner?
DAK PRESCOTT: You just nailed it: Frustrating. Frustrating that the dead spot I guess you can say in the middle of the game for the offense. Right after the first two drives, don't get anything going again, and then come back the second half. Once again, a little dry there. Then finally get it back rolling and get some points on the board. A couple of field goals and a touchdown to take the lead.
Yeah, tough, but our defense did a hell of a job. This is completely on everybody. One that sucks, but definitely took a step from last week's game, getting some points, playing a hell of a team here on the road.
We'll have to build off it. We'll have to use the good, make sure we get better from the things that weren't up to standard, but use the good and plan to go on the road.
Q. Still feeds that narrative of you guys not being able to win on the road.
DAK PRESCOTT: I guess it feeds it; right? We didn't come out with the win.
I can tell you the confidence is high from that group. This one sucks. It hurts. Especially as you just said, in the manner that we lost this one, but with the confidence that's high in these guys, we understand that we can. Obviously we haven't done it, but we will.
Obviously the road forward looks like we'll be going on the road. We have one more in this regular season to dial it in and improve from this one and get a win and then carry that into the next part of the season.
Q. Where does that confidence come from that you still have the belief even if you guys haven't been able to win?
DAK PRESCOTT: This whole narrative change is off of, unfortunately, one play out there. The guy misses the field goal, we're in here talking about a completely different outlook, so let's not lose sight of that. That's the game of football.
A lot of times we flip the script off of one play in that sense, and these guys, we're not going to do that. It sucks. We hate to lose. Nobody is taking any moral victories from this. We will take some confidence, but we're not taking any moral victories. But my point is if he misses that field goal or one earlier, we score earlier, you know what I mean, and it's a different game.
We're going to be committed. To answer your question, this brotherhood, what we're committed to, we're committed to one another, holding each other accountable and our goal.
Yeah, we just have to capitalize early obviously on that first drive and then defense will probably say that they need to get that stop, but they did a hell of a job. We have to find a way to put up more points as an offense, and we will.
Q. You mentioned that first drive. You guys win the toss, receive, go all the way down. How demoralizing is it when you can't come up with three points, let alone seven?
DAK PRESCOTT: It sucks, but demoralizing isn't quite the word. You have to move on fast, especially that being the first drive of the game. Understand it's a long game ahead. If that did demoralize us, we wouldn't have come back and responded the way we did in the second drive. Being able to do that was huge.
Being able to come back next drive, go down there and put seven in the end zone was a big part for us to put that last drive past us.
Yeah, when you look back at it, right, at this point, yeah, we would love to get any kind of points there. It changes the way the last drive was played, so yeah, sucks.
Q. How much was Tyron Smith missed today?
DAK PRESCOTT: I have to watch film. Those guys fought their asses off. Obviously had to extend in plays, move around in the pocket a little bit, but those are some great ends that they were playing. I mean, especially Chubb over there. So got to go back and look at the film, but Tyron, Hall of Famer. He is going to be tough to replace, and when he is in there, it's always a difficult time.
Q. You already touched a little bit on the defense, but I just wanted to know what your thoughts were coming into the game about how the defense would respond to the way that they played in Buffalo and just what you thought of them in general. It seemed like they were able to keep you in the game throughout.
DAK PRESCOTT: Yeah, they kept us in the game, as simple as that. As I said, the dry spots early are after the first two drives to not get anything going again until the end of the third quarter.
Yeah, they gave us the opportunity even to take the lead late. With slowing an explosive offense down, playmakers. They got some field goals, but you turn those field goal possessions or allow them to have touchdowns on the field goal possessions, and we don't even have a chance to come back right there. So they definitely gave us an opportunity.
They've got the right leaders on that side of the ball. You see the way that DeMarcus plays. That's who he is on and off the field. Guys got to continue to follow him just doing things right. Hell of a player. I saw it all over the field tonight. They have a hell of a leader in D.Q., so no worries about that group. They responded well and gave under the circumstances an opportunity.
Q. CeeDee said it was strange for him to not be involved in the second and third quarter. What did you see? Was it defense that was doing something? What happened after the first two drives and then until the fourth quarter he wasn't involved in?
DAK PRESCOTT: Yeah, strange I guess is a good word, but when you have three or four catches and 70 yards on him from the jump, you're playing a defensive coordinator over there that's been around for a long time, and he's going to find ways to slow you down and maybe fog my reads up a little bit when it comes to your side. That's all that really happened.
Credit them over there. They weren't going to let the guy just continue to have a career day, which was potential obviously with the way that we started.
Yeah, and then got them some more catches obviously late, but that's on us as well is finding a way even with that happening, getting more catches. We had a screen called one side or another. Went to one side, and then looked back out to the play, and it looks like CeeDee would have had a better opportunity. Things like that, that falls on my lap. Yeah, we'll get better.
Q. I know it's sour after a loss, but was that drive at the end maybe one of your better drives of your career when you think about the moment and everything?
DAK PRESCOTT: We didn't win, so it's hard for me to say that. Got to go back and look at it as well. I'm a guy that takes it one play at a time and understood what that drive meant and what we needed to do.
It wasn't just me. Guys fought. I was giving credit right to the offensive line, tackles. The guys did a great job, receivers getting open and making some big-time catches. Cooks down there in the touchdown. I thought CeeDee was close to having that one.
So I mean, got to go back and look at it, but when you don't win, it's hard to put make something monumental.
Q. What would give this team confidence going on the road in the playoffs?
DAK PRESCOTT: We know who we are, and we know when we get going. You saw it in the first two drives, and you saw it late in the game there, and it's just about being consistent all the way through for the offense. If we stay consistent like that and the defense plays as well as they did tonight, it's a different story.
Just understanding, as I said, we obviously took a jump from the week before up in Buffalo. It's about not just moving forward and understanding that that's what's ahead of us, and we're going to improve again.
Knowing obviously we're going back home, we have a week Saturday. We'll play on Saturday. Obviously it's a place that we've been winning, but we have to make sure that we can lean on we're at home and it's going to be easy. It's another great team coming in. We have to defend that and then take that confidence, go out to Washington, get that win, and that will be one that starts the streak.
Q. I think it's the fifth time this year away from home that you have been less than 40% on third down. Is that when you look at it as a big difference where you guys are?
DAK PRESCOTT: Yeah, for sure. We've been one of the best third down teams all season long. You just said it right there. Didn't quite know those numbers, and it's something that we'll look at, and, as I've told you before, find answers and solution to that.
Yeah, if you're not getting first downs and you're not converting third downs, this game is going to be hard. First it starts with winning first and second downs to keep you in manageable third downs, and third downs where you can run the ball or now you play field position. We may go for it on fourth. I think it starts there.
From there it's just more attempts on the plate. We have to convert that, and we will.
Q. The illegal shift penalty there --
DAK PRESCOTT: I have no idea. No idea. No idea.
Q. CeeDee looked like he was either lined up off sides, but he moved back, and Jake went in motion, and they didn't ball-set it before he snapped.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports