Dak Prescott just wrapped up a Pro Bowl season that, on paper, looked like one of his best. A 67.3% completion rate, 4,552 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 99.5 passer rating-those are the kind of numbers that usually come with playoff wins and deep January runs. But for the second straight year, the Cowboys are watching the postseason from home, finishing 7-9-1 and missing the playoffs yet again.
And no one feels that weight more than Prescott himself.
“Monkey, gorilla-you know, it gets bigger each year that we don’t make it,” he said candidly during the Pro Bowl Games. That’s not just a soundbite.
That’s a decade’s worth of expectations, near-misses, and playoff heartbreaks talking. Prescott came into the league in 2016 and immediately lit a spark, leading Dallas to a 13-3 record as a rookie.
Back then, it felt like the Cowboys had found their guy-and that the Super Bowl window was wide open.
Now, 10 seasons in, that window feels a lot heavier to lift.
“You get here as a rookie and everybody thinks they can win the Super Bowl,” Prescott said. “And when you have a year like I did as a rookie, you think you’re going to have multiple opportunities. And now in Year 10, having opportunities and not doing what you wanted as a team and individually, it hurts.”
It’s the kind of reflection that speaks volumes. Prescott isn’t ducking the pressure.
He’s owning it. And he’s not pretending the past doesn’t sting.
In fact, it’s the sting that’s fueling him.
“Every year it just means even more,” he added. “You want to be here, and you want to be playing.
But the mindset I have is we go through everything for a purpose. And you can’t tell me that all these 10 years and every experience I’ve had wasn’t for us to be better and get there next year.”
That’s the mindset of a quarterback who understands the weight of the star on his helmet. The Cowboys haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1995-back when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin were still running the show.
That’s five championships ago. Since then, Dallas has been defined more by playoff frustration than postseason glory.
Prescott’s postseason record now stands at 2-5. His predecessor, Tony Romo, went 2-4.
Both quarterbacks have put up big numbers in the regular season. Both have had moments where they looked like they could take the next step.
But the breakthrough never came.
Jason Garrett, who coached Prescott for four seasons and now works as an analyst, summed it up plainly.
“Well, yeah, certainly you would think that by now that would happen,” Garrett said. “We have our stories when we were there as a coaching staff, and some close games we played in the divisional round and chances to go to the championship game.
But we didn’t get it done. And there’s a bottom line to this.
And the Cowboys, until they break through, people are going to still be talking about it.”
That’s the reality in Dallas. Until this team makes that deep playoff run-until they get back to the NFC Championship Game, let alone the Super Bowl-the questions won’t go away. And for Prescott, that means every season starts with promise and ends with more pressure.
But there’s also something to be said for a quarterback who still believes. Who still wants the ball. Who’s still standing in front of the media after a decade, not making excuses, but talking about purpose and perseverance.
Prescott’s numbers say he’s still one of the better quarterbacks in the league. The question now is whether that’s enough to finally carry the Cowboys where they haven’t been in nearly three decades. The monkey on his back isn’t going anywhere-unless he finds a way to shake it off in January.