The Dallas Cowboys did it yet again and Dak Prescott — with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run from smart people both inside the Dallas building and media/analysts from outside — believed las year’s 2023 squad was different.
Why?
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered Saturday’s wildcard round matchup as two-score favorites over the Green. Bay Packers, who have a first-year starting QB and the youngest roster in the NFL.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He came into Sunday’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
After another disappointing early exit in the playoffs, the Dallas brass entered the offseason with more question marks than answers.
Initially, the expectation was Jerry Jones and company would sign Prescott to a contract extension to free up cap space and keep the core of their star players in place.
But now it’s clear both Prescott and the Cowboys are going to ride out the final year of the QB’s current deal, making him a free agent after 2024 unless the two sides can reach an agreement before the end of the 2024 campaign.
Regardless, Jerry Jones is banking on Prescott to lead the Cowboys to another solid regular season finish and make a run toward the Super Bowl to close out the 2024 campaign. All reports have been positive regarding Prescott’s attendance during offseason activities but a recent photo of him in a walking boot caused concern for Dallas fans and sent shockwaves throughout the NFL.
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Breaks Silence On Injury After Seen In Walking Boot
The Cowboys’ quarterback was quick to dismiss any serious concerns regarding the photo that emerged over the holiday weekend of him in a walking boot.
The boot was on the same ankle where Prescott suffered a gruesome season-ending injury back in Week 5 of the 2020 season. But concerns were quickly eased when Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Prescott’s injury is “ankle soreness and nothing serious.”
Prescott confirmed he’s doing just fine, telling the newspaper, “I’m great”, per Hill Jr.
So exhale, Dallas Cowboys fans. While this could be his final season as the team’s franchise QB, he is just fine and should be close to 100 percent when his team opens their 2024 season with a Week 1 road game against Myles Garrett’s Cleveland Browns.
The minor ankle injury isn’t the only notable headline surrounding Dak Prescott. The 2016 fourth-round pick is also entering the final season of a four-year, $160 million extension he signed in 2021, and there are no indicators that the two sides are close to an agreement on a new deal.
Prescott’s regular season numbers have been MVP-caliber, but a 2-5 postseason record speaks for itself. Three of those losses have come as the favorites at home.
If Prescott wants to show the world he can take this franchise to the promised land, he has to get them past the Divisional Round. The Dallas Cowboys haven’t reached the NFC title game since 1995, the last year they won the Super Bowl.
