The Cowboys are out of the playoffs for a second consecutive season and for the fifth time in Dak Prescott’s 10 seasons. They have not made the NFC Championship Game, much less the Super Bowl, since 1995. It is the longest title game drought in the conference.
Prescott, though, has issued a guarantee for 2026.
“We won’t be back here in this spot,” Prescott said Tuesday, via Todd Archer of ESPN.
The Cowboys were 7-10 last season. They are 6-8-1 this season and need to beat the Commanders and Giants to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since going 5-11 for three consecutive seasons from 2000-02.
“I feel like the last few times I’ve said that were playoff losses,” Prescott said. “Each year has its own troubles. Each year has its own highs, lows, ebbs and flows and everything within it. The importance is controlling what you can. . . . I’m going to do my damnedest, controlling what I can and as you get older, I think having more input, having more say so and being asked more questions from the front office. Maybe there’s a little bit more that I can do, and it’s not physically or me getting better at my game. Maybe it’s speaking up and saying that this will help or I think this can help. Whatever it takes, once again I’m going to do my damnedest and make sure that I’m influencing and encouraging everybody else around me, not just the players, to do the same.”
Despite the Cowboys and their final two opponents having been eliminated from the postseason, Prescott said he plans to play the final two games.
He has thrown for 4,175 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season, earning him a fourth Pro Bowl. Prescott, though, has only two playoff wins. The clock is ticking.
“My success, that accolade is 100 percent is shared with each and every one of those guys in there,” Prescott said. “It’s pretty cool to be a Pro Bowler, but at the end of the day, it’s not what we’re going for.”
