Dak Prescott is one of the NFL’s most maligned, underappreciated and hated quarterbacks in NFL history not named Colin Kaepernick.
For some reason, many in the media and across the NFL fanbase refuse to acknowledge his talents and give him props for his success. Instead, they bypass his name when discussing the top QBs and celebrate his losses and failures.
Part of this is because Prescott plays for the Cowboys, a team so many love to hate.
But Prescott has been one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL since entering the league. This year he’s been proving it every week yet only now the media outside of Texas is paying attention.
Dak deserves league MVP consideration, especially after leading the team’s to a comeback victory last night over the Seahawks.
To appreciate Dak, you must examine his career, one which will probably surprise many of his detractors.
He was drafted in the fourth round by the Cowboys in the 2016 NFL Draft, and many didn’t think much of the 143rd pick from Mississippi State.
But the Cowboys did and named him its starter.
He paid immediate dividends by leading Dallas to a 13-3 record, receiving a Pro Bowl nod and winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award after throwing for 3,667 yards with 23 TDs and 4 INTs. He also added in 282 yards rushing and 6 TDs.
Over the next three seasons, he continued his success by averaging 4,037 passing yards, 25 TDs and 11 INTs. During that time, the Cowboys went 27-21 and the hopes for a Super Bowl grew each season.
But then came the devastating injury in the fifth game of the 2020 season. And that event was only made worse by the death of his brother, Jace MacKenzie Prescott.
Fortunately, he fought through a horrible 2020 and a year later, he had a career season, throwing for 4,449 yards, 37 TDs and 10 INTs. He also completed a then career-best 68.8% of his passes.
In 2021, Dak bet on himself and let his performances do the talking during tense contract negotiations. In the end, he signed a four-year, $160 million deal that included a then-record $126 million guaranteed.
But with that type of money came new expectations on the six year starter, and that’s when the often unfair critiques began to increase.
Over the last two years, Dak has been a primary target of the criticisms aimed at the Dallas Cowboys. While some of it is deserved, he can’t do everything so it’s not all his fault.
After Thursday night’s victory over the Seahawks, Dak has the Cowboys at 9-3 and he’s finally being given the respect he’s deserved.
Over 12 games, Dak has thrown for 3,234 yards, 26 TDs and 6 INTs. He has career highs in completion percentage (70.1%) and Quarterback Rating (108.3), is ranked 1st in passing TDs, is 2nd behind Brock Purdy in both completion percentage (by .1%) and Quarterback Rating and is 3rd in passing yards behind Sam Howell and rookie C.J. Stroud.
But most importantly, he has the Cowboys in second place in the NFC, trailing only Jalen Hurts and the rival Philadelphia Eagles (10-1).
It’s a shame that it’s taken so many so long to finally give Dak his props for he’s deserved better than he’s received.
In his career, Dak has never had a losing season (the 2-3 year in 2020 was when he suffered the season-ending injury). His two seasons passing for over 4,000 yards (2019, 2021) came when the league still played 16 games. Last season he missed five games due to injury and still passed for almost 3,000 yards.
Yet some still try to belittle him, including FS1’s Craig Carton, who earlier this week launched an ignorant attack on Dak’s pending fatherhood and questioned whether Dak’s girlfriend was a “gold digger” (more on that in another story).
To Dak’s credit, he hasn’t allowed the negativity to impact his life on or off the field.
“No one’s opinion defines me,” said Dak. “People can say whatever they want. I have the pen, I have the paper and I’m the one writing.”
Dak has been writing his script over his eight-year career, and it’s akin to a great story without the supermarket tabloid cover to attract attention.
But it’s still a great story, and now it’s time that others start writing positively about Dak Prescott and put his name in the MVP discussion.
