Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has more Pro Bowl nods (three) than playoff wins (two). He understands criticism comes with the territory of the position he plays, the $240 million contract extension he signed last year and the team he represents.
Since winning their third Super Bowl of the ’90s — and fifth as a franchise — during the 1995 season, the Cowboys have yet to even return to the NFC championship. That 30-year drought without an NFC championship appearance is the longest in the conference.
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“Nobody’s more upset; nobody’s more pissed; nobody’s more disappointed about that than I am,” Prescott, who is 2-5 in the playoffs, told Clarence Hill of All City DLLS, as reported by ProFootballTalk.
“Nobody wants to win more than me,” Prescott continued. “I have the proof in what I do, in my hours and my habits of preparation. I understand it’s a team game, but, at the end of the day, the quarterback is paid to fill in those gaps, and when you’re not playing well, to understand that and to bring the team back. And have I done that when I needed to? Absolutely not in those crucial times. And if I had, the record wouldn’t be 2-5. That’s being a realist. However, I know what I put into this game. I do it all for a purpose. And when I go through the fire, that just says it’s shaping up what’s to come.”
After suffering a season-ending hamstring tear in Week 9 last season, Prescott knows the pressure is on for him to deliver in 2025, what will be his 10th NFL season.
While the Cowboys missed the postseason in his absence, the division rival Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles made the NFC championship. The Eagles won that NFC East-themed conference title game before blowing out the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The 31-year-old Prescott has checked off several boxes during his NFL career, on and off the field. He went from fourth-round pick to surprising starter and then NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016. The Mississippi State product won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2022. In 2023, he led the league in touchdown passes and was runner-up to Lamar Jackson in MVP voting.
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But he’s also suffered a pair of season-ending injuries and underachieved in the playoffs.
“I would bet on myself, and I’d bet on the work that I put into this thing any day,” Prescott told Hill. “And trust me, I’d give the money I make to win and be broke.”
Earlier this month, Prescott said he’ll be a “full-go” for Cowboys training camp, which begins on July 22. He’ll be playing for his third head coach, as Dallas moved off Mike McCarthy and promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer earlier this offseason.
To improve upon his 2-5 postseason record, Prescott will first have to get his Cowboys back to the playoffs despite playing in a rigorous NFC East.
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