Dak Prescott is a Winner

What matters most in the NFL…stats or wins? Whether you ask players or fans, the popular answer wins. Cowboys fans have seen this firsthand with Troy Aikman.  Aikman was never a “fill it up” stats guy.

Throughout his career, he only recorded seventeen 300+ yard games, but he won 105 games (including the magical three Super Bowls in four years), which makes him the winningest quarterback in Dallas Cowboys history. As a result, Aikman is regarded as a top quarterback in NFL history. On the other hand, Tony Romo has better stats than any other Cowboys quarterback. He leads the team in all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns, he threw fewer interceptions than Aikman and had a better completion percentage than Aikman and Staubach. Romo never won like Aikman did, and that is why he is not regarded as an NFL greats like Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach are.

So… if winning is so important, why do people think so poorly of Dak Prescott. Obviously, he is lacking the Super Bowls which is a huge part of any ranking, but he is still a young guy and he is on the right path.  Like Aikman, Dak does not often throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, but he does win. Most people would consider Prescott a top fifteen quarterback in the league, and if you look at his “on paper” stats, that ranking is justified.

Since he entered the league in 2016, Prescott has the 11th most passing yards (10,876), 13th most passing touchdowns (67), 8th best completion percentage with a minimum 16 games started (66.1%) and 12th best QBR with a minimum of 16 games started (96). By looking at those stats, Dak Prescott is no better than a top-15 ranking. Fortunately for Dak, there are more stats, which somehow get overlooked far too often. 

Since 2016, only Tom Brady has more regular-season wins than Dak Prescott. Dak has 32 wins in that time, ahead of Ben Rothlisberger (31), Drew Brees (31) and Russell Wilson (29). A Dak hater might argue that he can’t win playoff games, but even if you add the playoffs, Dak is tied with Drew Brees for the third-most wins. Much like his predecessor, Dak is clutch. When the Cowboys were down in the fourth, Romo seemed to click into a new gear and will Dallas to victory. Dak has a similar extra gear when it comes to showing up when his team is down.

Since his rookie season, Dak has more game-winning drives (14) than any other quarterback. He also has the fourth most fourth-quarter comebacks (8).

What is it about Dak that makes him so easy to think less of? Is it because he is not Pat Mahomes? But who is . . . other than Mahomes? Is it because Zeke “carries” him? During Elliott’s six-game suspension in 2017, Dak went 3-3, and in Week 17 of last season, a game in which Ezekiel Elliott did not play, Dak had perhaps the best passing game of his young career.  He threw for 387 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and yes, I know the game technically did not have meaning, but the stat line is still impressive.  And that spin out throw to Beasley? Sick. He is never going to be the flashiest guy in the NFL, but as long as he keeps winning, does that matter?.  

I do not even need to ask Dak what is more important to him, because he shows us the answer every week. He wants to win.  The proof is in the film. Against Seattle, he willed himself to convert a critical third down, including flipping himself over a Seahawk defender,  which led to a Wild Card victory. 

When you look at what Dak has done, you have to wonder why the fanbase is hesitant to commit to him long-term.  Is it how he throws the ball? How he looks in the pocket? Because it cannot be the results . . . which is what we all say really matters . . . right?

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