Dak knows the Cowboys beat themselves more than the Lions did.
I said it post-game after the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Detroit Lions on Thursday: The worst thing about the 44-30 loss was that coach Brian Schottenheimer's team never gave itself a genuine chance to win.
Whether it was the defense allowing huge explosive plays and failing to get stops, or costly penalties and turnovers on offense, Dallas just couldn't get out of its own way.
Not to mention struggles on special teams, as the Lions started every single offensive drive at least at their 43-yard line. So, a couple of first downs and they're in scoring range.
You can't win games of football playing like that.
And Dak Prescott is now suggesting that in a way, the Cowboys handed the coach Dan Campbell's Lions that game.
“Yeah, I respect Detroit, I respect Dan the way this team plays, it's a great battle, but absolutely, and there's no knock to them, no knock to anybody,” Prescott said. “But majority of the games that we have lost, had turnovers and haven't done what we've done on offense, it's been self-inflicted.
“You got a kicker like (Dallas' Brandon Aubrey), you get across the 50, can put the ball in, he gave us a chance. Simple as that. They're self-inflicted, and that's my point. You can't turn over the ball when you've got such a safe haven and a kicker like that.
"We've got everything that we need, and we're stepping on our own feet.”
There's no denying that the Cowboys' foilbles played a role here. But to Detroit's credit, they hammered home every single advantage allowed.
I've seen a lot of fans on social media call out the referees and several calls that they believe led to Dallas' loss.
Now, did that have an impact? Sure, with the DPI George Pickens got that would have had Dallas down at the Lions' one-yard line that was brought back due to a hands-to-the-face penalty from Jake Ferguson, but let's be clear, that doesn't make up 44 points.
And I'm fairly sure the Lions got the rough end of the stick on a few calls as well.
Bottom line is that in a big game, the Cowboys simply never gave themselves a chance at beating the Lions, with self-inflicted wounds plaguing them.
Fans can handle losing, but when you hand a team so many great chances, you're asking for trouble, and at Ford Field, the Cowboys got more trouble than they bargained for. ...
Mainly because they were the masters of their own downfall.