Dak Prescott hopes to hear crickets Sunday at Washington
10:39 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas – There is no more difficult place to play college football than in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night. The ground has actually shook.
On Sept. 20, 2014, Dak Prescott went into LSU’s Tiger Stadium and its 102,321 fans and put on a show. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He ran 22 times for 105 yards and a touchdown in a Mississippi State win. Prescott had not been born the last time the Bulldogs won in Baton Rouge.
The environment Prescott walks into Sunday for his second start as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback will not be as hostile. Still, while FedEx Field has been downsized in recent years, there were more than 79,000 fans in attendance when the Washington Redskins opened their season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday.
“Every road game in the SEC was loud,” Prescott said. “I’m excited for it, though. I love road games. It’s kinda you-versus-the-world-type thing in there. I’m excited for it. I’m excited to head up to the capital and see what the Redskins fans have for us and come out with a win for us.”
This will be Prescott’s first road regular-season start, a challenge for any quarterback.
“Our quarterback has played on the road at different times in his career,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He played in the Southeast[ern] Conference, and there’s some tough environments down there as well. The challenges of communicating apply to every team, apply to all facets of your team.”
And Prescott already has played in the NFL’s loudest venue, albeit in the preseason. He was forced into the role he has now after Tony Romo suffered a compression fracture in his back on Aug. 25 against the Seattle Seahawks.
“The fact that we’ve practiced silent counts before and being [in a] hostile environment, Seattle is one of the louder places,” center Travis Frederick said. “Of course, that’s the preseason. It’s not quite where it was in the regular season, but …”
Prescott is more concerned with the Washington defense than the noise. After the Redskins were torn up on Monday night -- Steelers receiver Antonio Brown caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and DeAngelo Williams ran for 143 yards and two scores -- Prescott expects things to be different Sunday.
“Whatever they may do, we’ll be prepared for it,” Prescott said. “I think they’ll be ready, they’ll be prepared.”
Prescott completed 25 of 45 passes for 227 yards in the season-opening loss to the New York Giants. He wasn’t sacked, and he wasn’t intercepted, but he did not throw a touchdown pass and the Cowboys scored only one touchdown.
“I felt I was prepared the first game, but you’re never prepared enough,” Prescott said. “Do the same thing I did last week preparation-wise to get ready for the Redskins and be in control of everything.”
If he can be in control, this might turn into a Cowboys home game, much the way last week it turned into a Heinz Field imitation because of the thousands of Pittsburgh fans waving Terrible Towels.
Early or late Sunday, the game will be on the line and FedEx Field will be loud. It might not be as loud as Death Valley, but Prescott’s lasting memory wasn’t so much the noise as it was the silence. He hopes to experience that Sunday.
“I remember a third down where I couldn’t hear myself,” Prescott said. “I don’t know if anybody else heard [me] and we got the play off and got the first down. It goes from can’t hearing yourself to hearing crickets. That’s the fun part of it.”