If you talk to your average Dallas Cowboys fan, all hope is lost for this season after the Micah Parsons trade. And in terms of any misguided Super Bowl aspirations, that's probably true — and might've been true even if Parsons was on the roster. However, that feeling has seemingly permeated to how fans feel about the entirety of the team, which is also misguided. Yes, the defense has a chance to be truly abysmal, but Dak Prescott and the offense simultaneously have a chance to be special.
Since Parsons was dealt to the Packers, the comparison that I've made frequently has been to last year's Cincinnati Bengals. That might seem out of left field, but it shouldn't. When you look at the construction of the Cowboys with Prescott at the helm of this current offensive group, it's right on par with what we saw Joe Burrow and the Bengals working with a year ago.
While you can certainly reckon that Prescott is a tier below Burrow, the situation is where the comparison takes flight.
Just like the Bengals had an elite 1-2 punch at wide receiver with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Cowboys can match that in the 2025 season with CeeDee Lamb and now George Pickens. There's also a replaceable but good tight end in to add to that with pass-catchers in Mike Gesicki for the Bengals and Jake Ferguson for Dallas.
Furthermore, Cincinnati had a stable of running backs that, while Chase Brown emerged, was deemed as average at best going into the season. It's not hard to imagine some combination of Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah being part of a similar mix as well. And perhaps the cherry on top, though less certain than normal, the Cowboys probably have an advantage over last year's Bengals on the offensive line.
All this is to say, the Cowboys offense didn't lose Micah Parsons and is in perhaps the best situation it's been in for a couple of years. That, in turn, could mean a career year loading for Dak, just as was the case for Burrow a season ago.
Dak Prescott might be loading the best season of his career
Burrow played like an MVP on a non-playoff team a year ago. Had the Bengals been better, that absolutely would've been a conversation for the former No. 1 overall pick. After all, he led the NFL in passing yards (by almost 300 yards, no less, with his 4,918 mark) and touchdown passes (43) while also adding two rushing touchdowns. The offense also finished sixth in the NFL in scoring, averaging 27.8 points per game.
The problem, of course, was that the defense was an eyesore. Cincinnati gave up the seventh-most points per game last season at 25.5 points. It felt like every Bengals game was a shootout, which is simply not a way to survive in the NFL — but it is a way to essentially require the offense to put up ridiculous numbers.
When you then look at Prescott and the Cowboys, it's not hard to see a similar formula. The comparisons personnel-wise are obvious, but now you're talking about an even worse defense — Dallas was actually second-worst in the NFL last season in points per game allowed at 27.5 — that just lost its best player. That's going to put even more pressure on the offense to produce, but we know that Prescott is capable of it.
Despite being a lightning rod for Cowboys fans and football analysis at large, Prescott has put up some incredible years when he's been fully healthy. In 16 games in the 2019 season, he threw for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns. He hit 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns (a career-high) in 2021, also in 16 games. And in 17 games for the 2023 campaign, he threw for 4,516 yards with 36 touchdowns while finishing second in MVP voting.
And what stands out about all of this is that Prescott had arguably the best season of his career in 2023 when he was A. healthy, and B. didn't have to overcome the defense. He's healthy again in a terrific offensive situation, but with more of a need than ever to put the Cowboys on his back.
Unfortunately, Dak Prescott's success won't translate to Cowboys wins
The cold water on this conversation, though, is that Prescott potentially flirting with a career-best season won't ultimately matter all that much. This defense could be all-time bad without Parsons. I don't believe in the pass rush and the cornerback group has long been susceptible to getting burned. Maybe they improve marginally against the run, but that's negated by how much worse they could be against the pass.
Just like the Bengals, the formula at hand isn't a winning one. Cincinnati finished the season 9-8 and missed the playoffs. That's probably the North Star for the Cowboys this season, or at least for fans, when it comes to what this team could be.
However, if Prescott has the type of year that Burrow did a year ago, which seems at least feasible given everything we've talked about, it could be good for the future in Dallas. It should result in the talk of "Jerry Jones is posturing to draft Arch Manning" getting put to bed. It would give the Cowboys a chance to retool and rebuild the defense around a franchise QB in Prescott. It would give fans something to hang their hats on.
None of this, of course, is a guarantee. But the chips have fallen and there is a world where we're about to see Dak Prescott like we never have before. The Bengals and Joe Burrow showed the Cowboys the way with what they were forced to work through a year ago.
So, at least there's one silver lining from the Parsons trade... I guess.