Jori Epstein | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

Dak Prescott’s lone drive against the Rams on Saturday night was, by most preseason measures, a success.

Prescott completed five of five passes for 64 yards. He connected with a different target on each attempt, highlighted by a ball he aired 31 yards to Michael Gallup down the right sideline. And the Cowboys capped off the 12-play, 97-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from rookie Tony Pollard.

The one blemish: a sack Prescott took on the fourth play of the series. Rams linebackers Natrez Patrick and Bryce Hager blitzed for a loss of 12 yards, also knocking the ball from Prescott’s hands. Suddenly, the Cowboys faced second-and-22 from their own 3.

“A critical blitz pickup that got our quarterback killed,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones described it after the game.

It was also a familiar experience for the quarterback.

Last season, Prescott was sacked a franchise-record 56 times—only one fewer than the sum of first two seasons combined. The culprits varied. After Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick was sidelined all of 2018 with an autoimmune disease, Dallas’ traditionally dominant offensive-line play declined. Until an October trade for Amari Cooper, the Cowboys didn’t have a true No. 1 receiver, making it harder for Prescott to find an open target quickly on routes. And, overall, Prescott was slow on the release: Twenty-nine quarterbacks threw more quickly than the 2.82 seconds he took on average, according to data from Next Gen Stats.

Prescott aims to reduce both his release time and sack count entering Year 4.

“100 percent, it has to come down,” he said after a training camp practice. “The type of guy I am, I’d say 50 percent or more [of sacks are] on me, simply knowing where my checkdown is and getting it out of my hand, whether it’s completed or not.”

Kirby Lee, Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Prescott has practiced throwing the ball away in training camp as well. The Cowboys backtracked a combined 347 yards from Prescott’s 56 sacks last year. He knows that’s a problem, especially for a team that only converted on 51.79 percent of red-zone trips in 2018 (seventh-worst in the league).

“You look at the good teams, you look at the teams that are in the Super Bowl: Those are the teams that don’t have many negative plays,” Prescott said. “So I’m going to start with myself getting the ball out, knowing what I need to do with it.”

Prescott has honed his ability to read defenses and make decisions more quickly since he propelled from fourth-string to first-string quarterback during training camp in 2016, months after Dallas drafted him in the fourth round. Tight end Jason Witten repeatedly has pointed to Prescott’s anticipation as one of the starkest changes he noticed after a year away broadcasting in ESPN’s "Monday Night Football" booth. He’s not the only teammate noticing.

“There’s definitely a change,” Gallup told USA TODAY Sports. “Coming out here, everybody can see it. He’s improved a lot, and we definitely appreciate that and we love it.”

And yet, there’s a catch. Prescott’s knack for threatening with both his arms and legs is among his best traits. He’s rushed for 944 yards in three seasons, averaging 5 yards per carry. He’s also run for six touchdowns each year. No NFL quarterback owns more than his 18 since 2016, and only two others (Cam Newton and Tyrod Taylor) have reached double digits.

Prescott realizes he must balance snap decisions with remembering to consider his run lanes.

“Sometimes, you know, I’m able to make plays keeping the ball in my hand, extending plays,” Prescott said. “So it’s a fine line. But you have to find that line and ride it the best you can.”

He should have more help this year than he did entering 2018. With Frederick’s return, Prescott lines up behind three Pro Bowl offensive linemen. Cooper and a more experienced Gallup should give Prescott better receiving targets than he had early last year. Witten doubles as both an able pass protector and reliable underneath target who has caught 73.7 percent of his career targets from the quarterback.

The one major question mark is whether running back Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout ends before the season opener. Elliott is a savvy pass protector, and the focus he draws from opposing defenses can open up opportunities elsewhere for Prescott.

With or without Elliott, Prescott will still undoubtedly be faced with more than a few sacks. When those plays do come, the Cowboys hope their quarterback will rebound as he did Saturday.

As they faced second-and-22 backed up to the 3-yard line, Witten said Prescott gave his teammates a message: “Let’s go 97.”

“The first thing that stood out to me was his approach in the huddle … playing it out, how we’re going to do it,” Witten said. “I just think he knows where he wants to go with the football.

“He’s just in command.”

Follow Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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