Dak Prescott has struggled to lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs. Derek Carr has had trouble getting his teams into the playoffs at all.
These have been the main criticisms of the two veteran quarterbacks over nearly a decade in the NFL. Now, they will face off as Prescott’s Cowboys and Carr’s New Orleans Saints both start strong in their new quest for playoff success.
“I’m focused on beating Derek Carr right now, Derek Carr and the Saints,” Prescott said. “We’ll think about the playoffs when we get there. I understand what has happened in the past, but it’s important to stay focused on the present. It’s week by week, and that’s what we’re concentrating on right now.”
The Cowboys (1-0) head into their home opener on Sunday with a 16-game regular season winning streak at AT&T Stadium, following a 33-17 win at Cleveland. The Saints (1-0) had the biggest scoring win of Week 1, defeating Carolina 47-10 at home.
Dallas has made the playoffs for three straight years but has not been able to get past the divisional round since their last Super Bowl win at the end of the 1995 season.
Carr, at 33 years old, has only made the playoffs twice and played in one game. A late-season injury ended his best chance in nine seasons with the Raiders in Oakland and Las Vegas.
After the Raiders decided to move on from Carr, he struggled early in his first season with the Saints but played well later on, with tiebreakers preventing New Orleans from joining Dallas in the NFC playoffs.
“As someone who has had to prepare against Derek and has also had Derek in the building, and as someone who’s had to prepare against Dak, I have a lot of respect for both of those guys,” said Saints coach Dennis Allen.
