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Their playoff loss may still be painful and fresh in people’s minds, and it’s fair to say there’s not a lot of belief in Cowboys country.
While there’s plenty of blame to go around after their loss to the Green Bay Packers, many are questioning Dak Prescott’s ability to get the job done in games that matter, i.e. the playoffs.
In their Wild Card Round loss to the Cheeseheads, Prescott threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns but also tossed two interceptions with an 89.8 rating.
Those numbers on the surface seem solid besides the two picks, but a good portion of that was in garbage time with the game already over.
One man, though, who knows the quarterback position well and the pressure that comes with suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys, still has faith in Dak.
Believe
When you think about Troy Aikman’s career as Cowboys quarterback, he is held in high esteem.
However, the Hall of Famer knows what it’s like to suffer setbacks similar to what Dak’s going through.
A former national champion at Oklahoma and first overall draft pick, Aikman went 14-24 in his first three seasons in Big D, losing his first 11 games as a starter.
“I still believe in Dak,” Aikman said.
“I think until you do it [in the playoffs], there’s always those criticisms. Peyton Manning went through that in his first three years when he didn’t win a playoff game. And then you look back on it now, and you can’t imagine that anybody ever questioned whether or not he could win a playoff game.”
“I do know that we all draw on our past experiences, adds Aikman.
“And when we don’t have great experiences, then those become hard to overcome, and I think that’s the challenge for Dak. The question for him, and really for the team, isn’t so much what happens in the regular season but rather how you play once you get into the postseason. That makes for a long year when that’s the way it works. “
Peyton Manning didn’t win a playoff game until his fourth NFL season, just like his brother Eli.
Good Omen?
Prescott looked to be on an MVP trajectory before the New Year, so expectations will be understandably high for him next season.
He’s also entering the final year of his contract, adding to the incentive for him to pick up his game and earn a big payday.
If quarterbacking history means anything, Dak and the Cowboys could be in for something unique and unheard of since Aikman’s generation.
2024 will be Dak’s ninth season in the NFL.
In Peyton Manning’s ninth NFL campaign in 2006, he led the NFL in touchdown passes (31) and passer rating (101.0) but, more importantly, made his first Super Bowl appearance, where he lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
10 years later, in Matt Ryan’s ninth season as a starter, he had the best passer rating in the regular season (117.1), was the league MVP and made the Super Bowl for the first and only time of his career.
Since 1980, the Bengals’ Ken Anderson has been the only quarterback who’s started more than nine seasons without making it to a the Super Bowl.
It took Andersen 10 seasons to get there, losing a heartbreaker with the Cincinnati Bengals versus the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980 campaign (26-21).
The Cowboys and Prescott need something to feel optimistic about, and this might be it.