Andy Dalton just made Dak Prescott a lot of money with his miserable performance

Andy Dalton’s performance on Monday Night Football should be all the reason the Cowboys need to pay Dak Prescott.

The Dallas Cowboys saw what life without Dak Prescott looks like on Monday Night Football against the Cardinals and it was not pretty.

Andy Dalton could do nothing with the Cowboys offense. He threw two interceptions generated all of three points before a garbage-time touchdown gave his stat-line the slightest boost.

It says something when Kyler Murray, who completed just 9-of-24 passes, completely outplayed Dalton. At least Murray protected the football and used his legs to add to the Cardinals offense. Dalton didn’t do the former and simply can’t do the latter.

The big winner from Monday? It should be Prescott, who can walk into Jerry Jones’ offense and turn on the tape of Dalton’s performance as proof he deserves a big new contract.

After watching Andy Dalton, the Cowboys should pay Dak Prescott what he wants

It will be a while before Prescott is back on the field for Dallas. He suffered a fractured ankle against the Giants and had to undergo surgery which will keep him out until next season.

In the meantime, the Cowboys will have to continue weighing their options with Prescott on the contract front. He wants to get paid. Dallas doesn’t want to break the bank to keep him.

Just a few days ago, reports indicated Prescott is likely to be franchise tagged once again in 2021. That would delay the potential for a big contract, even if the injury isn’t expected to change the negotiations.

Fortunately for Prescott, every game the Cowboys play without him could do plenty to convince Dallas they need to secure the quarterback’s services for years to come. It might even do more than him continuing to play at the high level he achieved before his injury.

Dalton balling out and guiding the offense without much of a drop off could have negatively impacted Prescott’s argument to be one of the highest-paid QBs in the game. The possibility clearly hasn’t come to pass.

Unless rookie back up Ben DiNucci, a 2020 seventh-rounder, gets some playing time and unexpectedly lights up the NFL, Prescott has little to worry about.