Dak Prescott discusses how his preparation has changed ahead of Wild Card weekend, playoffs

The Dallas Cowboys are gearing up for a Wild Card weekend matchup with the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday. Ahead of the matchup, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott opened up on his preparation for the 49ers, adding that preparing for the playoffs is a little bit different than it is normally.

“Maybe just a little bit more film,” Prescott said when asked if his preparation changes in the playoffs. “Maybe a little bit more games than in the normal breakdown. We take four or five games, and sometimes in a playoff game you want to go see what they’ve done really well in other games or against other opponents that may not be in that breakdown. And that’s more just trying to get a feel of the (defensive) coordinator and how he calls games and why he’s scheming one blitz up versus a different team than another. Just trying to get a feel for maybe how they come into this game against us.”

Prescott had a strong regular season for the Cowboys despite battling through nagging injuries and inconsistencies at times. On the season, he threw for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns and ten interceptions. Prescott’s 37 touchdowns on the season broke a Cowboys single-season record, previously held by Tony Romo at 36.

Dallas finished the regular season at 12-5, while San Francisco went 10-7. The Cowboys are the third seed in the NFC, while the 49ers are sixth.

Prescott, Cowboys ready for anybody in the playoffs

When the Cowboys lost three out of four games in November, questions arose about the state of the team. But Dallas responded by winning four straight and five of its final six games. Over the final three weeks, the Cowboys reached 50 points twice in wins over Washington and Philadelphia.

The 49ers also finished the year on a strong note. After sitting at 3-5 after Week 9, San Francisco really turned things around with a three-game winning streak to reach 6-5. The 49ers then lost to Seattle, beat Cincinnati and Atlanta, lost to Tennessee, and beat Houston and the Rams. Finishing at 10-7, the 49ers went 7-2 over the final nine weeks of the season.

While the 49ers will not be an easy first round matchup, the Cowboys are prepared to play the best throughout this run. After the regular season, Prescott said that the Cowboys don’t care who they play in the playoffs. But they’re going to be ready.

“It doesn’t matter,” Prescott said. “Line ’em up. … Whoever it is, wherever it is, we’re ready for this run.”

Sunday’s kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. in Dallas.