Dak Prescott had his finger stepped on during his Dallas Cowboys' lopsided loss on Sunday night to the San Francisco 49ers.
It was his pride that came away worse for the wear.
"Didn't see it coming," Prescott said after Dallas' 42-10 blowout defeat on Sunday night. "Put everything into this and got punched in the mouth. Called a couple weeks ago humbling against Arizona. But this may be the most humbling game I've ever been a part of."
The Cowboys' Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was stunning. The Cowboys' Week 5 lambasting at the hands of the 49ers was jaw-dropping.
Prescott, who had thrown just one interception entering the game, threw three. The offense mustered just 197 yards and didn't have a first down until its fifth drive. The defense had little to be happy with, either, allowing 421 yards of offense and 6.3 yards per play to a Niners squad whose starters were smiling away the victory from the bench in the fourth quarter.
In this Sunday night NFC heavyweight fight, the 49ers won by stoppage and "humbling" was the word of the evening for the Cowboys.
"A very humbling loss, clearly," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. "Stating the obvious."
After forging ahead 7-0 on its first drive, San Francisco took a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter, but Prescott and Co. finally got going. Dallas halved its deficit when Prescott threw a rainbow to KaVontae Turpin. Aside from a field goal, though, that was it for the Cowboys' scoring.
The 49ers' defense clamped down, while Brock Purdy and the San Francisco offense flourished.
Having been eliminated in each of the last two postseasons by the 49ers, this was the Cowboys' chance to show they belonged among the NFC's elite. Yet to play their NFC East rivals, the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, and having now been humbled by the Niners, the 3-2 Cowboys aren't ready for prime time at this moment.
"It clearly just shows where we are as a team," McCarthy said.
Prescott wasn't the only Cowboy to struggle, it was a team-wide exercise.
Still, Prescott led the ąú˛úÍâÁ÷Ířin interceptions a season ago and pledged to cut down on the turnovers. He had until Sunday night when he tossed three. They weren't the only bad passes or decisions, as he often made throws into coverage and looked out of sync with No. 1 option CeeDee Lamb often blanketed.
He said he was prepared, but hardly looked the part.
"Felt good about the preparation, felt good about everything, honestly, coming into this game, and they beat us in every aspect," Prescott said.
Asked to assess Prescott's performance, McCarthy used a wide view, but made it clear the self-inflicted wounds had to be sutured.
"I don't foresee a whole lot of winning grades coming out of this performance," McCarthy said. "I think the most important thing for all of us, and you know I expressed it, is just be accountable. Be accountable for what you did tonight, and how you played. We gotta clean our own house up."
Prescott didn't make excuses after completing 14 of 24 passes for 153 yards and coming away with a dismal 51.6 rating.
That was as much of a message as anything from McCarthy, taking responsibility as the Cowboys look to circle the wagons rather than lose their heads and point fingers.
"The biggest thing is for us to be accountable," McCarthy said. "It's clearly humbling, but it is one game."
As for Prescott's finger, he said it's fine and didn't play a part in his troubles. He noted he threw the touchdown pass after he got it taped up.
Dallas might need to get taped up and patched up. The 32-point loss was its worst against the 49ers in the teams' hallowed rivalry, which San Francisco now leads 20-19-1.
"It's a punch in the gut, it's a kick in the ass, whatever phrase you want to put on it," McCarthy said. "We've been knocked down. They beat us in all three phases. We will clearly acknowledge it."
