The Cowboys’ playoff loss is starting to sink in for the rookie.
After suffering a heartbreaking loss in divisional play against the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott is looking forward to playing in many more postseason games.
"But (these are) games that I dreamed as a little kid of playing in," Prescott said Sunday after the game. "I plan to play in many more of them."
On Monday, though, the loss started to register and Dak admitted the Cowboys’ early playoff exit was a big ol’ bummer.
"It's sinking in. It sucks. It stinks," Prescott said, via Jon Machota of the Dallas News. "But it was fun. It was a great year. Great teammates. Great coaches ... Yeah, it sucks."
It might be of small comfort to the rookie QB now, but almost everyone was singing his praises after the game.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones singled out Prescott’s poise.
"He was everything that you could dream about if you had a make-believe situation on a rookie quarterback," Jones said. "He played in a veteran way."
While the Dallas offense struggled early on to get into a rhythm, falling behind by 18 points midway through the second quarter, Prescott led a furious rally and put the team in a position to win. People who were calling for Prescott to be replaced by Tony Romo early quieted down in a hurry.
Even the guy on the other sideline was impressed with Prescott and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.
"Dak and Zeke had phenomenal seasons," Aaron Rodgers said, via Fox Sports. "And I think this is just the beginning for the Cowboys."
An offseason of Romo rumors: Prescott surely showed he’s the future at quarterback for the Cowboys. So what’s going to happen with Tony Romo? Well, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says the answer is obvious: The Cowboys are going to trade him.
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Welcome to Championship Week
Tom Brady is an Aaron Rodgers fan: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been watching Rodgers, and he’s not necessarily scouting a potential Super Bowl opponent. Brady just thinks Rodgers is fun to watch. Agreed.
James Harrison’s grind never stops: Almost as soon as the Steelers landed back in Pittsburgh after Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs, James Harrison was back in the gym.
We know Harrison takes his fitness seriously, which is why he’s still dominant at age 38. On the NBC broadcast, announcers said Harrison spends $350,000 per year keeping his body in peak condition. Same.
More primetime games, please: The ratings were so good for Steelers vs. Chiefs, which was rescheduled due to inclement winter weather, that we may see more primetime games scheduled in the future during the playoffs.
Steelers don’t seem upset at Brown’s video: Antonio Brown shared the Steelers’ postgame locker room with the world via Facebook Live after Pittsburgh’s win over the Chiefs. Brown just happened to catch his head coach Mike Tomlin calling the Patriots assholes.
Even though the video was taken down early Monday, Brown could still face a fine. The NFL prohibits players from posting on social media 90 minutes before any game through postgame interviews.
Yet it doesn’t seem to be a big deal to Brown’s teammates.
"As far as I'm concerned, everybody in this league is an asshole, in my opinion," Steelers guard Ramon Foster told reporters Monday, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. "You have to be to play this sport. Coaches don't become head coaches by being nice guys."
Belichick doesn’t have time for InstaChat: You know who else doesn’t seem to care about the Steelers’ video? Bill Belichick, who said he’s "not too worried what they put on InstaChat." Get it? He doesn’t care about social media, guys!
Jordy Nelson is improving: After the Packers’ big win over the Dallas Cowboys, wide receiver Jordy Nelson said he’s feeling better after suffering broken ribs in the final week of the regular season. Still, he’s not certain he’ll be back for the NFC Championship matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Alex Smith missed Tyreek Hill for TDs twice: These two plays both could have resulted in touchdowns, because Hill was wide open both times. This may be part of the reason Chiefs fans were too sad to even take their grills home after the loss to the Steelers.
Richard Sherman has a "significant" MCL injury: Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said the injury has impacted Sherman on and off the field. Sherman hasn’t been listed on Seattle’s injury report for several weeks, and he was never listed this season with a knee injury.
Coaching search updates
The Niners are honing in on Kyle Shanahan: The head coach job with the San Francisco 49ers was reportedly Josh McDaniels’ if he wanted it. Now that McDaniels has withdrawn himself from consideration, the 49ers have their sights set on Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Texans need a new offensive coordinator: Houston needed to make some changes after an abysmal season on offense, and they’ve begun by "mutually parting ways" with offensive coordinator George Godsey.
Will Chip Kelly be the Jaguars’ new offensive coordinator? It seems not only possible, but likely.
Washington interviewed Rob Ryan: Washington needs to replace former defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who was fired by the team following the season and has joined Sean McVay’s staff in Los Angeles as the Rams’ linebackers coach. In addition to Ryan, Washington will also interview 49ers linebackers coach Jason Tarver for the defensive coordinator position.