Cowboys’ Dak Prescott facing make-or-break legacy season in 2026

There’s no question that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is ranked highly among his peers. And the Cowboys appear primed for an NFC East division title run. But Prescott is facing a make-or-break legacy season in 2026.

The Cowboys lucked into getting Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the 135th player selected that year. The quarterbacks chosen in front of him were Jared Goff (Rams), Carson Wentz (Eagles), Paxton Lynch (Broncos), Christian Hackenberg (Jets), Jacoby Brissett (Patriots), Cody Kessler (Browns), and Connor Cook (Raiders). Hackenburg and Cook? Really? They combined to throw 21 career NFL passes.

Wow. What a list of organizational failures to evaluate NFL talent.

However, as good as Prescott has been for the Cowboys, he’s still lacking a Super Bowl appearance.

This may be QB Dak Prescott’s best-ever chance to reach the Super Bowl

Prescott burst onto the scene in 2016. He led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and earned the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Also, he grabbed a Pro Bowl honor.

Since then, Prescott has been to the Pro Bowl three times. Those years were 2018, 2023, and last year. Along the way, he has been hit with more than a small share of criticism.

Most of it centers around the lack of playoff success. In his 10-year NFL career, Prescott has a postseason record of 2-5. He led the Cowboys to a 24-22 win over the Seahawks in 2018, before they lost 30-22 to the Rams. In 2022, Prescott and the Cowboys romped the Buccaneers before getting knocked off by the 49ers.

All of this has led up to the most crucial season in Prescott’s career. The elements for a winning football team are in place.

The Cowboys have a good enough offensive line. They have a quality ground attack. And they have arguably the best receiving duo in the league with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

On the defensive side of the football, they have the potential for a quality pass rush — but that will have to be proven. They should be solid up the middle against the run. And the secondary has the potential to be above average.

Plus, they have perhaps the best special teams unit in the league, considering how good kicker Brandon Aubrey can be.

The excuses are gone. The gloves are off. Prescott must stand and deliver.

What would be unfair for Prescott in 2026?

Here’s the worst part of this for Prescott. The Cowboys could go 14-3 in the regular season. Prescott could throw for 4,500-plus yards with 35-plus touchdowns and earn NFL Most Valuable Player honors.

However, if the Cowboys didn’t make it to at least the NFC Championship game, Prescott would still get roasted. That’s another reason why this season is so critical for him. He has a legitimate chance to erase all of the negative things that have been said about him.

However, Prescott will turn 33 in a couple of weeks. Father Time watches Prescott closely every time he gets out of his car and walks into Jerry’s World. It won’t be too much longer before Father Time taps Prescott on the shoulder and shakes his head.

Plus, Prescott has the teammates around him to help make it happen. For example, let’s say the Cowboys are trailing by five points in the divisional round. They have their defense on the field and need a stop, or the opponent can run the clock out.

There have been seasons where expecting the defense to get this stop would have been shaky at best. But this year, the Cowboys can get that stop. And Prescott has shown many times in his career that he’s good when the Cowboys have a chance to win at the end and he has the ball in his hands.

Prescott has 19 fourth-quarter comebacks on his resume, according to pro-football-reference.com. He also has led 26 game-winning drives. Last year, he authored three game-winning drives.

There isn’t a true respect problem for Dak Prescott

Prescott has the ability. ESPN ranked him No. 6 among quarterbacks heading into this season.

“Prescott was a fixture in the voting, appearing on nearly 75% of ballots with a healthy number of top-five votes,” Jeremy Fowler wrote. “In fact, a gulf existed between him and the seventh spot on the list. This is long overdue for Prescott, who has mostly been a fringe top-10 QB on these lists.

“He’s a true, acute progression passer,” an NFL coordinator said. “There are only so many of those types. He can read the whole field, from pre- to post-snap. He’s just really a good commander of the offense.”

“I think he can use his athleticism even more and run for first downs,” said an AFC offensive coach, referring to Prescott’s modest 177 rushing yards last season. “That would give [the Cowboys] a new dimension.”

But Prescott needs something to hang his hat on for the playoffs. He needs that second playoff win in a given year. Or, he needs to lead the Cowboys to the top seed. That way, he could play at home, needing just one win to get to the NFC championship.

Prescott is 47-21-1 at home in his career in the regular season. However, it’s fair to point out he is 1-3 at home in the playoffs.

Prescott doesn’t want to sail the NFL retirement seas with Tony Romo

Romo was also a great Cowboys quarterback. But he never got his team to the big game. And that’s a major regret of his, according to NFL.com.

“I’m not a guy with big regrets, I guess you could say,” Romo said. “The only regret I guess I would have is that my job was to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas. And I didn’t do it. So that always sticks with me a little bit because you give your whole body, heart, soul, everything into it, and you just wanted that for all the fans, for the Joneses, for everybody that you’re around.

“So that one always sticks with me a little bit just because I had that opportunity and just wasn’t able to do it. So that part of it kind of still sits there.”

Prescott needs to at least get to the Super Bowl. It would be a major disappointment for him if the Cowboys didn’t win. But getting there is what he needs for his legacy to feel a little less empty.

Of course, it’s true that Prescott is still on top of his game. He could potentially remain as the Cowboys’ starter at quarterback for three, four, or five more years. However, he has seen his share of injuries. And even though he still looks like he’s in his prime, this is his year.

This may be the last season he gets to throw to both Lamb and Pickens. He needs to make the most of it.

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