-
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. — It might not be a Joe Namath-type guarantee of winning a Super Bowl, but Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott did guarantee one thing for 2023 when he met with the media for the first time in training camp Thursday.
“I am going to lessen my interception numbers,” Prescott said. “That is a guarantee.”
There was some confusion last month when it was reported that Prescott said from his youth football camp that he would not have 10 interceptions this season, when in fact he said he would not have the tipped interceptions.
Last year, Prescott tied for the league lead in interceptions with 15, despite missing five games with a broken thumb. In the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he was picked off two more times. His interceptions have been a constant topic of discussion throughout the offseason.
“I’m not going to stop being aggressive,” Prescott said.
Through two training camp practices, Prescott has been intercepted twice, once on a tipped ball. His first on Wednesday came on a pass that went through the hands of wide receiver Simi Fehoko. On Thursday, cornerback Nahshon Wright came down with a deep ball intended for Jalen Tolbert.
“We’re trying to gain chemistry here, and we’re trying to be aggressive,” Prescott said. “That’s who our coach is, and that’s who I am. That’s the confidence I’ve gained in myself, and I’ve worked so hard to be able to have this confidence and make the throws that I’m making. That’s just two, right? If it continues then, yeah, come back to me and it might change my mood a little bit.”
The Cowboys say they are not worried the interceptions will continue to be a problem for Prescott. Before last year, he never had more than 13 interceptions in a season. His career interception rate was never higher than 2.7% before reaching 3.8% last year.
Mike McCarthy’s history is another reason the Cowboys believe Prescott will cut back on the picks. Brett Favre went from a league-high 29 interceptions in 2005 to 19 in McCarthy’s first year as coach of the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers had double-digit interceptions just twice in his time with McCarthy as coach.
McCarthy will call plays for the Cowboys this season.
“I think what I expect is not the unexpected,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “What last year represented was, relative to turnovers, unexpected … What we expect from Dak is don’t turn the ball over and be protective of the ball, which is what he really – when I think of Dak – that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. That’s what he does good.”