The Dallas Cowboys may be America's Team but they haven't won the Super Bowl since 1996. Tony Romo was supposed to lead them to the promised land but was unable to do so. There was immense hype around the Cowboys when Dak Prescott came out of nowhere to steal the starting quarterback job after Romo went down with an injury. Yet, Prescott has been unable to get the team over the hump to this point in his career as well.
The Cowboys haven't made it past the divisional round in more than 20 years, and have developed a reputation as a team that chokes in the postseason. Regardless of whether this narrative is fair or not, it is the narrative surrounding this team. The Cowboys have to turn things around and prove that they can get the job done in the postseason.
One player has outsized responsibility for the team's overall success, and this player has also developed a personal reputation for coming up short when everything is on the line. Let's take a look at who this player is and why they are under the most pressure this upcoming season.
Dak Prescott is a polarizing player
Dak Prescott is not a bad quarterback by any means. He burst onto the scene in 2015 and earned the starting quarterback position from Tony Romo on his own merits. The previously unheralded fourth-round draft pick brought an explosive new element to the Cowboys’ offense that Romo could not provide.
Unfortunately, for the Cowboys and Prescott, he’s been unable to get the team back to the Super Bowl. There are many reasons for the Cowboys’ struggles in the playoffs, and to be clear not all of them fall on Dak’s shoulders. Yet, when you are starting quarterback, all of the responsibility falls on your shoulders, whether that is fair or not.
If the team does great, the quarterback gets all the glory. However, if the team struggles the quarterback takes all the blame even if there’s nothing he could’ve realistically done to alter the outcome. That’s just the way life goes for starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
Prescott makes too many mistakes under pressure
One area where Dak has been criticized is his ability to perform in the clutch. He's made a few too many critical mistakes at inopportune times, and the Cowboys have paid dearly for these errors. One of Prescott's biggest flaws is that he'll try to do too much, resulting in ill-advised decisions and forced throws that too often lead to interceptions.
The former Mississippi State star often also tries to fight for yardage like a running back, but this can lead to a lack of ball security and fumbles that are recovered by the defense. The next step in the Cowboys’ quarterback's growth is to learn when to be aggressive and when to take what the defense is allowing.
This doesn't mean he has to let the defense dictate the flow of the game, though. Prescott can still make an impact while playing a smarter brand of football. This also isn't to say that he can't take any chances. There are times to be aggressive, but part of a quarterback's growth is learning when the situation calls for gunslinging and when the situation calls for playing it safer.
Prescott will need to learn the difference between the two in order to take the next step in his development as a franchise quarterback. The team will be better off for this approach, too. The more that they can unleash the good version of Prescott while limiting the harm caused by the bad version of their quarterback, the better they will be as a team.
Dak’s growth in decision-making will also open up the team’s playbook and allow for more creative playcalling. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will also have a much easier time calling plays when he knows that he can trust his quarterback not to make a costly error.
Right now, it sometimes seems as if the Cowboys are restrained by having to protect their quarterback from his own worst habits. If Dak is able to prove that he can be trusted to make the right decisions, it will open up their playbook and give defenses more to think about.
In some ways, Prescott's career to date is similar to that of an empty-calorie scorer in the NBA. He's putting up counting stats, but they aren't translating to sustained regular season and postseason success. This is largely because of his inconsistent decision-making and propensity to take unnecessary risks.
Prescott has developed a reputation as a player who comes up short in big moments, and this may be his last chance to turn that narrative around before it consumes his reputation and his career. That is why Dak Prescott faces the most pressure of anybody on the Cowboys this upcoming season.
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