OXNARD, Calif. — Jerry Jones went to the win column when asked about Dak Prescott on Monday.
“I think since Dak has been our quarterback, we’ve won either the sixth or seventh most games in the NFL since he’s been the quarterback,” Jones said. “So the bottom line is that we’ve won games, we just need to win the right games. I know this, I think he’s very capable of taking us all the way.”
Prescott has spent the entire camp refusing to talk around the subject. He arrived in Oxnard on July 27 wearing a vintage Super Bowl XXX champions T-shirt, the last title Dallas won, and Jon Machota of The Athletic posted the photo with the date and the score.
Two days later, Prescott was asked about it.
“It’s just the manifesting thing,” Prescott said on July 30. “We want stuff in life a lot of times, but then when people start talking about it, you kind of hesitate. Should I say that if they’re going to hold me to it? Well, absolutely. Playing in this organization, being in it 10 years, going into year 11, I’m not going to shy away from it. When you don’t have it, it sucks when you don’t get to play for it. When you’re watching other teams play in the playoffs, there’s nothing worse than that.”
Dak Prescott Wants To Be Held To It
Dallas beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 on Jan. 28, 1996, to win Super Bowl XXX. The Dallas Cowboys have five titles, behind only the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh, and they have the longest active drought in the NFC without a conference championship game appearance.
“Why shy away from that now?” Prescott said. “Why shy away from asking people to hold me to the same standard that I believe I can accomplish and that this team can accomplish?”
Prescott is 33 and entering his 11th season. Dallas drafted him in the fourth round in 2016 out of Mississippi State, and he took over as a rookie. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, finished as MVP runner-up in 2023, and has watched the Cowboys miss the playoffs each of the past two years.
Saying it out loud is the point, Prescott said.
“To go into training camp and to go into the season to say that those are our goals, I mean, it’d be stupid or we’d be remiss not to own that, and take accountability in that, and take pride in saying this is what we want to be and what we want to do,” Prescott said.
The Offense He Is Bringing Into It
Prescott threw for 4,552 yards last season, third in the NFL. George Pickens finished third in receiving yards with 1,429, Javonte Williams was ninth in rushing with 1,201, and CeeDee Lamb was 11th in receiving with 1,077. Dallas ranked second in total offense and seventh in scoring in Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer‘s first season.
Prescott coined an acronym for the group while working out with Dallas skill players in Park City, Utah. GOTI, for Greatest Offense There Is.
Tyler Smith made his third straight Pro Bowl on the offensive line last season, and Tyler Booker was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team, the first Cowboys rookie to earn it since Smith in 2022. Pickens is playing 2026 on the franchise tag.
Dallas allowed 511 points last season, most in the NFL, while Prescott’s offense finished second in total yards.
What Jerry Jones Said At The Start Of Camp
Jones was asked at the opening press conference what he made of his quarterback talking that way.
“I like the idea of him thinking that positive about what we’re going to work for,” Jones said. “We’ve got a long way. That’s good, to me, to be positive, especially coming from him. He’s a big part. He’s got a first-hand feel for what we can do, certainly on his side of the ball. I like it. I like him to be thinking at that success level.”
Prescott did not dress in Saturday’s 17-7 preseason win at Seattle.
Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Schottenheimer named the same date Monday when asked what Von Miller brings as a two-time champion.
Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT on NFL Network. The regular season begins Sept. 13 at the New York Giants.
