You have to go all the way back to 1978 to arrive at the origin of the ‘America's Team' moniker being assigned to the Dallas Cowboys. First, in their 1978 team highlight video for NFL Films. Then, only a year later, Pat Summerall used the term for the first time during a national broadcast of a Dallas Cowboys game. Since then, the America's Team nickname has stuck and become a part of the well-established identity of the Dallas Cowboys.

Being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is a different task than being the quarterback of any other franchise. It's something that eight years into his career, Dak Prescott should be accustomed to. But that doesn't mean Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is going to let his quarterback take heat without shedding light on how unprecedented he feels the scrutiny Dak faces is.

“I think the intensity of the microscope on Dak, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mike McCarthy shared on Mag Dog Radio, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “What he endures mentally and emotionally compared to the other 31 is unique. Speaking on experience of being around great quarterbacks, I’ve never seen a quarterback under a microscope like he is.”

Article Continues Below

This is the double-edged sword of being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. It's been nearly 30 years since Dallas last won a Super Bowl title. Every quarterback who falls short of that mark will be receive an unfair portion of the blame that comes with either a postseason failure or a missed postseason appearance altogether. And when the day comes that the Cowboys win another Super Bowl, whoever is quarterbacking the Cowboys — whether it be Dak Prescott or someone else — will receive the lion's share of the credit, and it will probably be mildly undeserved.

As far as Dak Prescott goes, his Cowboys resume is more impressive than one might think. He's one of only four quarterbacks to start at least 100 games for Dallas, and his .631 winning percentage in the regular season is the second-best mark, behind Roger Staubach. The 2-4 Playoff record is a minor blemish on an otherwise impressive resume, but as it stands now, it's the same postseason record as America's color commentator, Tony Romo.