As the 2023 NFL season approached, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was ready to quiet the noise that he was ill-equipped to lead America's Team. After leading the league in interceptions in 2022, Prescott proclaimed that history would not repeat itself this year. He vowed that his interception total would go down in 2023, but what he did not say was that, in addition to reducing his interception total, he'd also become the first player since 1946 to lead the league in touchdown passes one year after leading the league in interceptions, but that's where the Cowboys QB finds himself with a week remaining in the season.

“Should Prescott finish the campaign with the TD toss crown, he would join Hall of Famer Roger Staubach (1973 season) as the only Cowboys QBs to lead the league in touchdown passes,” Grant Gordon of NFL.com writes. “He would also join another Hall of Famer, Bob Waterfield (1945-46), to lead the league in touchdowns a season after leading it in interceptions.”

It's not a guarantee that Prescott will hold on to the league lead in touchdowns, but his closest competition, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, will not be playing on Sunday afternoon. That means Dak (32) will have to hold off Jordan Love (30 touchdowns), Tua Tagovailoa (28), Jared Goff (28), and Baker Mayfield (28) in order to take home the touchdown crown. But Dak Prescott isn't putting much stock in what his numbers at the end of the year say about him.

“It's numbers. It's stats. It's part of it. That's why I don't get caught up in that stuff. A lot of great quarterbacks were injured this year, unfortunately. I just worked to be my best each and every day and make sure the guys around me are [working too]. Numbers are numbers. I don't get caught up in them.”

What Prescott does get caught up in is his steadfast, silent pursuit of quieting all of the noise around him. And how does he do that?

“For me, it's just about staying true to myself, keep working and not allowing other people's opinions — critics really — affect my game or the way that I approach this.”

Job well done so far, but in Dallas, Prescott's success will be measured by how effectively he's able to block out all of the noise and win in the playoffs.