Dak Prescott’s 445 passing yards on Sunday is a new record for quarterbacks facing a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team.
In the 383 games since Belichick took over as head coach in New England, no opposing quarterback has thrown a better game. Prescott is quickly establishing himself as an early MVP candidate, with fans buzzing about his performance in Sunday’s game. Nevertheless, the quarterback maintained his humble tone after the game.
“Honestly, I didn’t know I threw for that much until Zeke told me in the locker room,” Prescott said in a press conference. “It’s not about me, it’s about the whole team and the practice that we put into it.”
Belichick had a lengthy statement heralding the Cowboys a few days prior to the game and continued to praise Prescott in his postgame press conference.
Bill Belichick’s lengthy opening statement today breaking down the Cowboys: pic.twitter.com/QyQCd5Bv23
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 13, 2021
“[Dak] did a good job,” Belichick said. “There was a lot of times where I thought we had him covered pretty well, but he was able to extend some plays and made some great throws.”
Belichick is correct. Dak was able to use his legs to create big plays, throwing seven passes for over 20 yards, the final one being the overtime game-winner to CeeDee Lamb.
His 445-yard record was previously held by legendary Quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw for 438 yards in a 22-point loss versus the Patriots in 2014. It’s the eighth time a quarterback has thrown for 400 yards versus Belichick’s Patriots, but only the third time a 400-yard passer has beaten the team.
Even with his historic numbers, Prescott continued to shift all the focus to the rest of the team after the win.
“It’s just the brotherhood,” Prescott said. “Just the way we interact with each other throughout the building, off the field, and then it all just shows on the field.”