"Do we have a knife so I can cut this in half?" - When Dak Prescott honored Ezekiel Elliott after winning Rookie of the Year award

Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott is considered a locker-room leader not just for his on-field performances but also for his off-the-field mannerism. However, Prescott has shown leadership skills outside of the football gridiron since he was a rookie.

It came to notice when he was honored with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2017. While taking the award, Prescott said:

“Do we have a knife so I can cut this in half?”

Prescott was referring to sharing his award with his fellow teammate and former Dallas Cowboys running back, Ezekiel Elliott. Zeke had an equally impressive performance in his rookie season that helped the Cowboys clinch the top spot in the NFC in 2016. Prescott added:

“He deserves it just as much as I do from his yards, his catches, the way we handled things in the backfield, it was always together ... without Zeke, I don't win that.”

Although the Cowboys lost the divisional round 34-31 to the Packers, the QB-RB duo of Zeke and Prescott remained a highlight for Dallas. They became the first QB-RB duo to each gain over 3500 passing and 1500 rushing yards.

Zeke led the NFL in 2016 with 1631 yards from 322 attempts and scored 15 rushing touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He also gained 363 yards from 32 receptions.

Meanwhile, Dak Prescott passed for 3667 yards for 23 passing touchdowns with four interceptions and a completion rate of 67.8%. He also rushed for 282 yards for six rushing touchdowns.

---

Why Dak Prescott won the 2016 NFL Offesnive ROY award and Ezekiel Elliott didn't?

While taking the award, Prescott gave due credit to Ezekiel Elliott for making his work easier. However, experts had reasons to believe that Prescott was a more suitable candidate for the award.

He stepped in unexpectedly to replace Tony Romo in the most demanding position in football. It was a testament to his mental toughness. Marc Sessler of NFL.com wrote:

“The Cowboys' rookie passer was a plug-and-play wonder who thrived at the toughest job in sports.”

Dak Prescott’s four interceptions from 459 pass attempts (0.87% INT rate) were elite, and his 4:1 TD-INT record is one of the best for a rookie. Despite coming in as a fourth-round pick, he led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record.

Meanwhile, Zeke was the fourth-overall pick with expectations to dominate behind the best O-line in football. Although Zeke had a spectacular season, his performance was somewhat expected, given his draft pick and the Cowboys' run-friendly system.

Eventually, Dak Prescott (28 votes) edged past Zeke by seven votes.