Greg Olsen: All eyes are on Dak Prescott to get Cowboys over the top

Greg Olsen has his eyes on Dak Prescott this season potentially being the one to get the Dallas Cowboys over the top when it matters the most … in January.

If I am ever going to be all about them Dallas Cowboys for a season, it might as well be in 2023…

While I feel infinitely more confident about my team coming out of the AFC in the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas stands as good of a chance as anyone of representing the NFC in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. Last week, I caught up with FOX Sports’ Greg Olsen. The new Chief Family Officer for Batten agreed with me that Dallas will be an intriguing story this NFL season, one way or another.

Since he calls a boat load of Dallas games for FOX, Olsen has seen far too often good to potentially great Cowboys teams come up short when it matters the most. Will this year be different? Maybe.

"“Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. I think every year Dallas is an intriguing story, maybe no more so than this year. They’ve been so close at times. You can make an argument that in the last year or two that they’ve been the best team in the league at various moments during the season. Then, it just seems like they can’t get over the hump.”"

Of course, the biggest thing Olsen has his eyes on is if franchise quarterback Dak Prescott can take his game up another level. Keep in mind that head coach Mike McCarthy will be calling the plays after Dallas parted ways with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after last season ended.

"“Mike McCarthy’s rolling the dice. They’ve had a top-five offense the last couple of years. Scoring, call it 30 again, for a while. A lot of teams out there would cut their arm off to score 30 points and they go ahead and fire their offensive coordinator … But I think all eyes are on Dak. I think all eyes are on this offense. Can they go from a team that is known for scoring a lot of points, to a team that can win a meaningful game in the playoffs? Can they win a tough game in January? I think that’s what Dak and Mike McCarthy are searching for.”"

Moore resurfaced almost immediately with the Los Angeles Chargers. He should have great success working alongside Justin Herbert on Brandon Staley’s staff. The big question for Dallas is if the offense will be consistently good enough to match what could be Dan Quinn’s finest defense yet. Quinn will be back for a third season, but we all know he could be a head coach again in 2024.

Will Prescott be the difference-maker Dallas needs or will he remain an overpaid, mid-tier starter?

Greg Olsen: Dak Prescott will decide how good Dallas Cowboys can be in 2023

Even if you are shorting Dallas this season, how many teams in the NFC are definitively better than the Cowboys? The Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. That is it. There are other quality teams around the conference such as the sneaky Seattle Seahawks, the rising Detroit Lions or the well-coached New York Giants. We also have no idea how the NFC South will play out.

Odds are, Dallas will once again be a top-six team in a down NFC. The Cowboys will probably be good enough to win the NFC East in most years had the Eagles not been the team to beat in the conference. For now, the goal for the Cowboys is to get back to the NFC Championship, a game they have not even been to since the Bill Clinton Administration, back when I was in kindergarten…

To me, I think Dallas will have a top-five defense this season. Look for linebacker Micah Parsons to be a serious candidate to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. It may propel Quinn to have his pick of the litter in his second stab at being a head coach after failing previously in Atlanta. As far as if Prescott can make up the difference, I want to believe in him, but I honestly do feel skeptical.

While we don’t need a 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan season out of Prescott to get Dallas to the Super Bowl, it wouldn’t hurt. What Dallas does need is for him to be an undisputed, top-eight passer in the league throughout the year. Admittedly, he is not all that far off, but he has to be better than contemporary Kirk Cousins, and probably get into the Lamar Jackson range to make the difference.

Prescott has to play at a high level throughout, but he does have an elite defense backing him up.

Greg Olsen spoke with FanSided on behalf of Batten. As the new Chief Family Officer, Olsen will be a part of the company’s efforts to enhance and expand its range of family-focused security products and services to support their mission of empowering Americans to keep their families safe online, at home and in an emergency.

“I am honored to accept the role of Chief Family Officer at Batten,” said Olsen. “As a father of three, I understand the necessity and essential factors for keeping your home and your family safe from threats. I look forward to collaborating with the team at Batten to continue to identify the most innovative solutions that give families the peace of mind and protection they deserve.”