Dak Prescott subtly threw Jerry Jones under the bus over Cowboys' playoff shortcomings

The pressure Jerry Jones has to build a championship roster isn’t just about ending a 30-plus-year championship drought by the Dallas Cowboys. It’s also the fact that he can’t afford to waste away another franchise quarterback’s prime without even sniffing a Super Bowl appearance. Dak Prescott, a fourth-round draft pick, has truthfully outplayed the expectations he had coming out of Mississippi State.

Prescott will probably finish this season as the most decorated passer in Cowboys history and, unless Dallas puts together a miracle run, will most likely come up short of a Super Bowl appearance. That’s why Jones has pressure to actually build a roster good enough to win a championship. 

It takes more than a good quarterback in the NFL to win a championship. And, as Prescott said per Pro Football Talk, quarterbacks “are judged by winning that last game.”

The clock is ticking on Jerry Jones’ championship hopes

The clock truly is ticking for Jones to figure out how to build a championship roster in Dallas. This isn’t a quarterback problem. The one thing Prescott probably deserves that he hasn’t gotten yet is league MVP, but you have to be on a winning team to get it. The Cowboys’ roster construction has largely been criticized thanks to Jones not making the moves he needs to be making. 

The more time he wastes not investing in the right players to win, the tighter the championship window gets. Putting the franchise tag on George Pickens is a perfect example. It’s a step in the right direction, but the fact that they haven’t extended him long-term shows Jones is getting in his own way. Part of getting rid of Micah Parsons allowed the Cowboys to use that money elsewhere on this roster. 

Jones has turned to the NFL Draft for the cheapest approach to building the roster. It’s worked the last couple of years. The Cowboys have to be aggressive in free agency though to take their roster to that next level. Jones did make key moves in landing Rashan Gary and adding some depth to this roster. This feels like one of the better Cowboys rosters in recent years. If it doesn’t work out this year, will it ever?

Why Dak Prescott has unfair expectations

Prescott has been a really good quarterback and considering he was taken in the same NFL Draft as Ezekiel Elliott, shows just how far Prescott fell in the draft. Yet, no quarterback gets criticized as much as Prescott, which is unfair to him. How many quarterbacks would love to have Prescott’s resume? Sure, he’s 2-5 in the postseason, but he also has 1,962 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions in seven playoff games.

Not all stats are created equal, and yes, Prescott does share the blame in the losses; he’s not absolved of that. But it’s not entirely his fault, which seems to get lost in the narrative around Prescott’s career. He doesn’t get the credit for elevating this team like he should. In 2016, Prescott’s rookie year, the Cowboys didn’t produce a 1,000-yard receiver. In 2018, the Cowboys were able to win their first playoff game in the Prescott era but still didn’t produce a 1,000-yard receiver. In fact, it wasn’t until CeeDee Lamb arrived that Dallas finally had one. 

The 2021 roster was the best offense Prescott has probably had and the one year you could blame him instead of the team. Outside of that, even the 2022 and 2023 rosters weren’t that great. Prescott has to get some slack for not having the greatest arsenal, even in Dallas’ best years with him at the helm and still succeeding.

It probably won’t be, but Prescott’s latest comments should be a little bug planted in Jones’ ear that reminds him how little time he has to build a contending roster. This season was a step in the right direction, but there’s no “if it works.” It has to. 

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