Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's biggest problem may not be incompletions or interceptions

In a game where Dallas largely seemed to have lost touch with the rest of the NFL, the Cowboys had one last chance – another infamous misdirection by Kyle Shanahan? – with 3:05 left, San Francisco was six points behind.

Four Dak Prescott incompletions later, the game was essentially over. And the Cowboys are basically as prepared for 2024 as a 3-4 team can be as banged up as Dallas after a 30-24 loss to a 49ers team.

Incompletions weren't Dak's biggest problem Sunday night in Santa Clara, California. I'm not sure his two interceptions, which brought his season total to eight, were also his biggest problem, although if he wanted to inadvertently extend the league lead, being tied with him in 2022 isn't great for one Dallas team that is struggling.

Dak's biggest problem is that he can't run. On the morning of the season opener in Cleveland, the Cowboys signed Dak to the largest contract in NFL history, an average annual price of $60 million that will last at least a few months and most likely keep him in the top five for years to come. But even if Jerry Jones paid him to be Dak The Immortal, Prescott gave the Cowboys Dak The Immobile.

Prescott often played with his feet. In this league, every quarterback has to be able to do that, unless you're blessed with the best offensive line and unusually good receivers. Even a year ago, Prescott ran for 242 yards and occasionally managed to get out of trouble to keep a drive alive.

No longer. Not in 2024.

While 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was the game's second-leading rusher with 56 yards on Sunday night, Dak had a single hit for a loss of one yard. On a big third down, he had to make a short run and had the angle to pass Nick Bosa down the sideline, but immediately lost it and had to throw the ball out of bounds. I don't know if it's those blue high-tops, but Dak just looks slower and unable to make the quick decision to run into the pocket, and I'm far from the only one who's noticed that.

In that final set of downs, in which Dak should have been intercepted on first down but continued to fire incompletions until he was out of the game, NBC's Cris Collinsworth – rarely critical of the game's featured players – said: “I'm telling you “Dak just doesn't do it.” “I can't move like I used to.”

No one is suggesting that Dak needs to run like Baltimore's Lamar Jackson or Washington's rookie phenom Jayden Daniels. He never had these skills. But it would be nice for Dallas if he could still finish among the top 20 quarterbacks in rushing.

Or top 30. Or maybe top 35.

Dak came in 36th this weekend behind (among many, many others) Aaron Rodgers of the Jets, Joe Flacco of the Colts and Andy Dalton of the Panthers.

Now you might be wondering: What's all this talk about running? Dak was 25 of 38 for 243 yards on Sunday. That's a reasonable sum overall, if not necessarily an efficient one in today's game. But the two interceptions, which bring his season total to eight (he threw nine last season), are a real problem considering Dallas hasn't yet reached the halfway mark.

Quarterbacks have to be mobile, and maybe Dak still is, but he's just lost the internal clock that you use to decide when it's time to get out of the pocket and make a play. An offense that is the worst in football will always be limited, and that was evident Sunday when CeeDee Lamb racked up 146 of the Cowboys' 292 yards rushing and receiving. If the 49ers hadn't lost track of Lamb twice in the fourth quarter, this would have looked like so many other Cowboys-49ers games of late.

Not nice for the visitors.

At 3-4, this is a club that is more than 2 1/2 games behind Washington and two behind Philadelphia. It's a franchise that seems completely out of sync – paying Dak an enormous sum even though, at 31, he may be past his prime; completely ignored the need for a running back last offseason; At the worst times of a game you just look unprepared. The Cowboys had a trick that seemed to work in the embarrassing 47-9 loss to Detroit two weeks ago – a fake backward move on the kickoff – so they tried it even further against the 49ers, eventually letting KaVontae Turpin pass the ball to CJ Turn Goodwin. And he was penalized for an illegal forward pass. Just one of several total failures by John Fassel's special teams on Sunday.

A 49ers team was missing last year's Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk early Sunday, running back Jordan Mason and falling to No. 3 on the depth chart – rookie Isaac Guerendo from Louisville. Dallas could barely contain him as he led all rushers with 85 yards and San Francisco produced 469 total yards.

There was nothing to please Cowboys fans except the inexplicable way the 49ers let Dallas get close in the final quarter. But a game-winning drive was not in sight for Dak. Four incompletions and it was done. Another week of self-exploration is upon us. And if Dak can't run for his life every now and then, it's going to be a very long season.

More from Cowboys-49ers

– Five takeaways from the Cowboys-49ers: Dallas rally fails, division hopes suffer setback

– After another loss to the 49ers, the Cowboys are running out of time to solve the team's myriad problems

— Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's biggest problem may not be the incompletions or interceptions

– Dallas Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs confronts reporter after 49ers loss

– Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle will miss the game against the 49ers after becoming ill upon arrival at the stadium

— We looked at SNF TV shows so you don't have to: Cowboys Called Circus, Horror Movie

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.