Dak Prescott’s burden: Making the Cowboys champions again
Prescott is the OG of Black starting quarterbacks in the NFL, but legacy will be determined by playoff success
This season, Andscape will document the ups and downs of this Black quarterback fraternity and how each of them is carrying their specific burden of proof.
When you’re the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, the spotlight is big and bright.
Dak Prescott stepped into that spotlight 10 years ago when he became the starting quarterback for America’s Team. A decade later, the 33-year-old Prescott is the OG of starting Black quarterbacks.
He also has the most complicated challenge of them all: how to be free in a gilded age.
In his decade with the Cowboys, two Dak Prescotts have emerged — “Regular-Season Dak,” who puts up impressive numbers, and “Playoff Dak,” who has been all but invisible. The team’s postseason collapses during his tenure have been crushing.
This season, Prescott became Dallas’ career leader in touchdown passes even as the team has been up and down. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks so highly of Prescott that he made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks.
But Prescott faces a haunting reality. The Cowboys haven’t won a championship in 30 years, and Prescott has won just two playoff games. Ultimately, Prescott’s legacy will be determined by whether he meets an existential challenge: Will “Regular Season Dak” ever become “Championship Dak,” and can either of them make America’s Team great again?