So much for Trey Lance's "intel." What did he tell the Dallas Cowboys, that the the 49ers were going to give the ball to Christian McCaffrey on short downs? Or that they would use Deebo Samuel in motion? Or that Fred Warner is probably the greatest middle linebacker in the league right now?
The San Francisco 49ers humiliated the Cowboys at Levi's Stadium on Sunday night, and then their fans humiliated Dallas again by calling for Trey Lance, the ex-49ers quarterback, to come on in Dak Prescott's place. Nothing beats a diss like that. We gave you a spy (in return for a fourth-rounder), and you still can't score more than one touchdown against us?
Jerry Jones should be disgusted with the way his team played under the bright lights. Dak Prescott threw three picks in total, which could be attributed in part to his own terrible decision-making and in part to Mike McCarthy's play-calling. Except for a few deep bombs (one of which turned into a pick), the Cowboys were unable to stretch the field all game and constantly ran predictable plays underneath.
The 49ers exposed the Cowboys that night, plain and simple. Kyle Shanahan showed he was superior to Mike McCarthy in every way from handpicking talent, incorporating that talent into his scheme, and executing plays flawlessly.
After a reality check that made the Cowboys not only touch grass but eat it too, what's left for Prescott and the boys? The season's hardly done yet; however, some would say Dallas' Super Bowl hopes have bottomed out. No way they're beating this 49ers squad (barring injuries) in the conference championship.
With confidence at an all-time low, the most Jerry Jones thing to do would be to reinforce faith in Prescott. Show no weakness, and the team won't get weaker. That's how it works, right?
No More Dak: Cowboys fans should want to see Trey Lance get meaningful minutes in 2023
Well, there's a worthy case for starting to develop Trey Lance in the Cowboys' system, assuming Dallas sees him as more than just a mid-level backup. Cooper Rush ended up replacing Prescott in the fourth quarter with the Cowboys down 31 points. Everyone knows what Rush can do. Why not make Lance the backup so he can play in those garbage minutes instead?
And to take it one step further: Why not start grooming Lance into a starter for the Cowboys? The former first-rounder is a year removed from his ankle injury and should be fully healthy by now. Lance only played eight games in San Francisco, throwing for 797 yards and five touchdowns against three interceptions. He arguably has the highest upside of any backup quarterback in the NFL, and his potential future is being wasted on the bench.
After that humiliating loss, the Cowboys should take a page out of the Raiders' notebook (who started Aidan O'Connell over Brian Hoyer) and seriously consider giving Lance meaningful snaps. Doing so would slowly chip away at Prescott's starting position in Dallas, but maybe that's exactly what the eighth-year veteran needs to improve his game and start taking better care of the ball. Prescott can't hide from his career-high 15 picks in 2022. Sure, he can effortlessly lay waste to out-of-sorts squads like the Giants and the Patriots, but when it comes to the big games? Prescott may not be the Cowboys' guy.
So in today's edition of Overreaction Monday, Prescott should absolutely be benched after a performance like that. He may still be the most proven starter in Dallas and is under contract until 2025, so it's not like Lance is jumping into the deep end. Lance should be the one pushing Prescott into the water this season: Sink or swim. Cowboys fans are sick of treading water.
In Week 5's defeat and the two back-to-back postseason defeats to the 49ers, Dallas was held to under 20 points in each game. At what point are the Cowboys going to look at Prescott's performances against top-tieropponents and say, "This is not good enough"?
They should be saying that now, rather than later, to avoid prolonging their fans' torturous pain that comes from being let down by an overhyped team season after season.
Sunday night laid all the cards on the table. Dallas knows exactly what the future with Dak Prescott holds -- a bunch of first-round playoff exits, and getting cruelly beaten up by stronger teams. Let's ditch the status quo and buck the mediocrity. Take a calculated gamble, risk something and feel something other than just perennial disappointment. Roll out Trey Lance, and let's see what kind of quarterback he could become.
