We have come to expect the unexpected in the NFL playoffs, but not many would have expected the level of defeat the Dallas Cowboys suffered against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round. Dallas lost 48-32 to the visiting Packers in a game where the hosts trailed by 32 points in the fourth quarter.
It has now been nearly three decades since the Cowboys have reached the NFC Championship game and the franchise is 5-13 in playoff contests during that stretch. Dallas fans are calling for the franchise to replace head coach Mike McCarthy and to move on from starting quarterback Dak Prescott.
Prescott has one year remaining on his contract, and while his future is in doubt, here are three reasons the Cowboys must not move on from their All-Pro QB.
Defensive letdown
The storyline coming into Sunday was whether the Packers could slow down the high-powered Cowboys offense. Instead, it was the Dallas defense that struggled to stop the balanced Green Bay attack. The Cowboys gave up a season-high 48 points and 415 total yards. Jordan Love had a near-perfect passer rating while Aaron Jones averaged 5.6 yards per carry and scored three times.
This Dallas defense had its ups and downs this year, but it finished the regular season ranked fifth in total yards and points allowed per game. Even if Dak Prescott had played a near-perfect game it would have been difficult for the Cowboys offense to keep up.
Dak is coming off a career year
After a league-leading 15 interceptions in just 12 starts last year, Dak Prescott was on the hot seat entering this season. Instead, Prescott rebounded with the best campaign of his career. He led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and had just nine picks — more than halving his interception rate. His passer rating of 105.9 was also a career-best as the Mississippi State product earned AP 2023 NFL All-Pro Second Team honors.
Where do the Cowboys think they can get a better quarterback than that?
Lack of upgrades available
If the Cowboys decide to move on from Dak Prescott, where would they turn to? Kirk Cousins is comparable to Prescott in terms of regular-season production but has just one postseason win in his 12-year career. Baker Mayfield is coming off a career year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but is similarly unproven in the playoffs and more inconsistent overall. Russell Wilson has considerable experience playing in — and winning — playoff games, but at age 35 he is not the same player he was half a decade ago.
Winning in the playoffs is incredibly difficult. Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino's career playoff record was 8-10. John Elway did not win a Super Bowl until his 15th season. Drew Brees did not win his first playoff game until his fifth year as a starter while it took Peyton Manning six years to get a postseason victory.
Entering this year, Dak Prescott was 2-4 in the playoffs, with all four of those defeats coming in one-score games. Crazy things happen in the postseason. In Peyton Manning's fifth season, the Indianapolis Colts lost 41-0 to the New York Jets as Manning finished with 137 passing yards and two picks. Imagine how Indy fans felt then. It would be another four seasons until one of the best QBs of all time made it to the Super Bowl.
Fans expect great teams to make a Super Bowl run every year, but that is not realistic. Yes, Dallas was good enough each of the last three years to make a championship push, but moving on from Dak Prescott would not improve the Cowboys' Super Bowl odds.
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