Inside The Star
The Cowboy way is never easy; it comes with trials and tribulations, and Dak Prescott has had these two things in spades.
Being the face of the world’s most recognized and valuable franchise could not be handled by many, but Dak Prescott has, without any transgressions.
No matter what this man accomplishes in his career, he will always be the scapegoat because he is the quarterback of America’s Team.
The limelight never seems too big for Prescott, but he gets slack for his playoff record and lack of Super Bowls. How does he match up in all the important categories for a quarterback compared to other superstar quarterbacks?
Let’s compare Dak Prescott’s career with that of some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL since 2016 and see if the bad press is warranted.
The list of quarterbacks chosen will be from the top five active quarterbacks in win totals since 2016.
Patrick Mahomes is the winningest quarterback in the NFL since he was drafted in 2017, with 89 wins and 23 losses in the regular season.
He is also 12-3 in the playoffs and has three Super Bowls.
Since 2016, Dak Prescott has had 76 wins and 46 losses. His playoff record is 2–5, and he has not been to the Super Bowl.
In his eight seasons, Mahomes has 5,530 dropbacks and a completion percentage of 66.8%. He has thrown for 38,168 yards, 291 touchdowns, and 84 interceptions.
In his nine seasons, Prescott has 4,925 dropbacks and a completion percentage of 66.7%. He has thrown for 33,398 yards, 227 touchdowns, and 89 interceptions.
Fairly even statistically, remember that Mahomes has a whole season on Prescott due to season-ending injuries to the Cowboys quarterback.
The only area in which Prescott does not compare favorably to Mahomes is the most important: playoff wins and Super Bowls.
Seems like everyone agrees that Dak’s playoff performance is the biggest knock against him, right?
Well, here’s a list of ALL active NFL QBs with a better Playoff EPA per play from 2016-on than Dak currently;
Patrick Mahomes 💍💍
Aaron Rodgers 💍
Matt Stafford 💍
Russell… pic.twitter.com/0twA0i4dAu— Outl✭w (@OutlawCowboyNFL) August 11, 2023
Lamar Jackson is dynamic, but how does Dak Prescott compare to the man from Baltimore?
Rushing is Jackson’s superpower. He has 1,108 rushing attempts, 6,813 rushing yards, 6.1 yards per carry, 36 touchdowns, and 72 fumbles.
Prescott is not a big-time runner. He has 452 rushing attempts, 2,100 rushing yards, 4.6 yards per carry, 33 touchdowns, and 63 fumbles.
The difference here is that Jackson has only 320 scrambles, plays not designed to be runs, or 28% of his attempts, compared to Prescott’s 204, or 45%.
Jackson is a running back in a quarterback’s body.
Now the rushing is out of the way, let’s look at passing.
Lamar Jackson entered the league in 2018, so we will start there for...
