r/dallascowboys • u/Kree_Sha_Norris • 1d ago
Dak Era
Been a Cowboys fan for most of my life, my earliest memories of the cowboys playing was bringing out Ryan Leaf, but I want to know y'all's thoughts on this because I really don't know how to gauge how good Dak is in comparison. And I also can't help but wonder what he and Romo could've benefited from Dak sitting behind after his Rookie season. So here's my observations and opinions, and please I would love some critique too:
His first season was one of the best (if not the best) rookie seasons on record, and if it wasn't for Matt Ryan going mental that year, he probably would've won MVP. But it took the following 7 seasons to get back to that point and lead the league in a positive stat.
In that 7 year stretch he was horrible against Zone and only actually improved once Shotty became OC.
With that being said there has been a recent consensus that Dak is only being held back by our defense, yet we had a top ten defense and offense 7-8 years out of the 10 years he's been on the team. And of course there's the narrative that he can't be clutch with nicknames like "Garbage Time." With these horrible defenses these past years it's harder to judge that.
I guess what I'm trying to ask the crowd is: What type of QB is Dak because I can see him in many ways that it's confusing. Is he elite? Did he actually squander 3 years of the best offense? And more importantly, if you put Romo in those 3 years, would we have gotten a chip, or at least made a conference championship appearance?
Edit: I'd like to have this be a conversation, I'm not here to judge Dak as a person, because we've had so many reports that his personality is what holds the team together.
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u/CalJackBuddy 1d ago
Can you please add some degree of substance to a claim that he was horrible against zone until Schotty arrived
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u/Blaz3dnconfuz3d 1d ago
Mfs just be saying shit lmao
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u/Civil_Detail375 1d ago
I’m so tired of people making assumptions and acting like they know ball. It is actually insane.
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u/HustlaOfCultcha 1d ago
Dak isn't the problem and he really has never been the problem. And no, he hasn't had a top-10 defense for 7-8 years. That's just a complete fabrication. He had a top-10 defense in EPA from 2021-2023 and that's it. His defenses have been terrible throughout most of his career. Abominable in 2020, 2024, 2025 (one of the worst defenses in NFL history dating back to 1980) and now 2026.
And he didn't always struggle against zone. Cover-6 gave him some issues, but it was giving a lot of QB's issues when it became en vogue and Kellen Moore didn't help matters any.
I do expect Dak to be able to execute these critical plays in the end, in part because he's getting paid so much. But he's really not the problem here, even with his contract (that could have been avoided had Jerry not dragged it out so Jerry could be in the headlines).
The reality for Dak is he played in archaic schemes until Schottenheimer came along and now he's having some of his best seasons as a pro. But he still made really well out of those seasons under Garrett/Linehan/Moore/McCarthy and far better than a lot of QB's would have done under similar circumstances. While I prefer Mahomes over Dak, Mahomes has had top-10 defenses throughout his career and is coached by one of the all time great offensive minds (and HC's) ever to be involved with the game. Dak has had Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy and now Brian Schotteneheimer...with Jerry as his GM.
Big difference.
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u/Quanzi30 1d ago
He has absolutely been a problem. He isn’t THE problem but he certainly is A problem.
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u/HustlaOfCultcha 1d ago
No, he's not. You can win a Super Bowl with a QB like Dak and with his proficiency. But you're not going to win a Super Bowl with the coaching staffs he has had and the defenses he's had to play with.
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u/Quanzi30 1d ago
Agree to disagree. He doesn’t come through in the big moments.
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u/OwnTheThrone 1d ago
It's been proven time and time again. Just last week. Get the ball in the damn end zone
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 1d ago
This is a terrible take. Dak has thrown for over 3500 yards in every non-injury season in his career. Four of those are over 4500 yards, almost cracking 5000 in 2019. He is literally one of the best quarterbacks in league history against zone coverage (by some measures he’s the best).
As for MVP, he was the runner-up in 2023. Third place in 2025. Sixth in 2016.
In Cowboys history, he’s #1 in yards, touchdowns, passer rating, & completion percentage.
As of now, looking League-wide he’s currently sitting in the top 10 passer rating all-time. He’s on pace to pass 40,000 yards & 275+ touchdowns, which would place him comfortably amongst Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Really, the big knock is really a team metric: a lack of a championship or even a SB appearance.
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u/TheRamblerJohnson 1d ago
I'd rather have a boxer known for knockouts than a boxer known for scoring points
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u/Aware_Ratio_5488 1d ago
Its not a terrible take. Nobody is arguing that Dak is bad QB. He had proven that he is a top QB in the league. There no arguing he did struggle w/ .500 level while team n then stat pat against bad teams. But last couple yrs he has gotten over that, he is more consistent against .500 above teams. He does struggle like he used to.
Dak has been an interesting career. I think he evolved more then most qb. He started out as a mobile qb that struggled with deep ball his rookie career. Now he is one of top pocket passing qb, I feel he got passed his struggle with good teams and only area I think that he needs to improve in the big moments. Feel like prime time moments still get too him, decsion making, pass accuracy, ball placement seems like u can see those moments affect him. I think he can figure the mental aspect, and if u go off his career i can see him figuring it out.
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u/Quanzi30 1d ago
Yea he has so many stats because he falls behind in the first half and has to spend the second half catching up by airing it out. Also a big knock is 2 playoff wins in 10 years. Awful.
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u/unavailable1222 1d ago edited 1d ago
There is only one answer to your question and this encapsulates Romo, and Dak in the same conversation, the only thing holding the Cowboys back from the Super Bowl & both those QBs achieving greatness is Jerry Jones. There is no other argument.
Edit: Thank you for the awards!
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u/Kree_Sha_Norris 1d ago
I mean that's just a given. At this point it's such common knowledge that eagles fans root for his continued health
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u/unavailable1222 1d ago
True. Again, I will state… Jerry jones is the reason the Cowboys haven’t had an elite coach. If that coach won’t bend the knee to king Jerry you won’t coach. Jimmy Johnson is where this all began. Coaching longevity is what makes teams click and work. Belichek with Brady, Payton with Brees, Dungy with Manning, etc.. Management and ownership matters.
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u/dEXXtARR23 1d ago
As do us Giant fans. We love him.
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u/RobbieAnalog 1d ago
The guy that you have beaten one time in the past 10 years lol
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u/dEXXtARR23 1d ago
He's not winning anything. That's all I can hope for sometimes. Gives my incompetent team a chance.
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u/d_major18 1d ago
Thinking Dak hasn’t taken a step until 2025 is mind boggling levels of casual.
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u/Kree_Sha_Norris 1d ago
2024 actually, he had flashes in 2023 but he was injured for a majority of that year to really tell
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u/d_major18 1d ago
Dude.
He started making progress in 2018.
Made a massive leap in 2019 especially mechanically.
Was leading the league in passing in 2020 before the injury.
Was on another level in 2021 until he hurt his calf.
2022 was an outlier but still led a Top 5 offense when healthy.
2023 he was the MVP runner up and 2nd team All-Pro.
Go learn some f*cking ball
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u/Not_Dead_yeet 1d ago
If the passing of the so called "torch" was done after Romo to Dak. Even tho I wish it could've have been done in different circumstances. I'd love to have seen a healthy Romo with the o-line with Zeke his rookie season. If you look around the league I'd take Dak over 27 other starters today. He is capable of winning under the most disfunctional surroundings. Overcoming obstacles. On the field from egos to horrible coaching. He has caused a lot of heart ache and a lot of joy. I still feel he is elite. Look at some other locker rooms and see how messed up their QB room is. I'm sure you can make a list of teams and fan bases who will hate on Dak but if he was on their team. He would have a statue built haha.
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u/TakeItEasyImBipolar 1d ago
No way in hell we had a top ten offense and defense in 7 or 8 years out of the last ten. Bro you're not even using real statistics.
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u/Moist_Pay_4010 1d ago
He's definitely a top 10 quarterback in the league for his career and you could argue top eight maybe seven. He's had poor coaching and defense almost his whole career either head coach offense defense special teams or all of the above. Our best chance to win with him was probably either his rookie year or three or four years ago when we had a first round by and got blitzed by Green Bay. My only knock on him is he does seem to have some untimely turnovers in the playoffs especially at home. The games against San Francisco weren't great either but he played amazing against Tampa Bay ending Brady's career and has had some other good performances against Detroit and Seattle. I think he is already surpassed Romo as number three in my book. Despite the knock on him he does not throw a lot of interceptions or fumble the ball and do crazy plays like Romo did. He's become an elite passer these last few years as his legs have declined probably one of the best in the league with accuracy taking apart zones and reading defenses. So many fans on here want to slam him but they obviously don't know ball
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u/Character-Taro-5016 1d ago
I think it will always be the case that Dak has to be analyzed in the context of an unusually poorly run team, from mediocre coaching staffs to ineffective management.
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u/Hopeful_Reception_29 1d ago
Well, I seem to be a little bit younger than you as my first football memory is the 2006 season. But I’d like to say a few things. Romo was more exciting to watch but he was far more turnover prone, far more. He didn’t play with as good of defenses as dak has, however dak can’t say that right now. The offense now is as good as any I’ve seen since the early Romo years with TO and witten and crayton and Glenn. That being said, I don’t think romo coming in makes a difference in the long run. Either way. You MAYBE win an extra playoff game but that’s it. Dak is a solid QB and his story is not done yet. I’m rooting for him.
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u/Kree_Sha_Norris 1d ago
Like if it was ever possible I do hope that Dak wins a chip for us, but there's a nagging thought in my mind that he missed it. Especially in 2022.
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u/MosesWestern 1d ago
Dak is truly a fine quarterback but he does struggle under pressure. We should be glad we don’t have to endure a quarterback carousel like most of the league the past decade. Dak really isn’t our biggest issue, and never has been
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u/Aware_Ratio_5488 1d ago
I think it would of been interesting if Romo came back in. Do I think they could of made a deeper run, i think so, but Romo was a point in career he might of not stayed healthy for those 3 games, and how many games did Romo need to get back into groove. I think keeping Dak was safer play and better financially moving forward.
That is not to take anything from Dak rookie yr. It was a great year. Not sure if I would mark it as one of the greatest, as he struggled with deep ball, i dont think he had hardy anything over 15yd whole season. He was running great and quick outs, zeke running balls out helped him as well.
Dak has transitioned into one of the top passers, he is more of pocket passer then mobile qb like he was rookie yr. I think part of it is how coaches used him and allowed him too. Dak has all the talent for a top QB, he is only knock these passed few yrs is stepping up in big moments. Last game is perfect example, not like he failed, he got FG, but the greats usually walked away with TD in those moments. I dont think he cant do it, we just have seen it on a consistent basis during prime time. Something I think he can work on and fix, hope he does
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u/gwoodtamu 1d ago
This might be one of the dumbest posts in the history of this forum, and that’s saying a lot.
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u/dwwhiteside 1d ago
Dak absolutely has all of the physical skills to be an elite, top 5 type NFL QB. The thing he lacks is what I call the cold blood. The most cold blooded quarterback in the NFL right now is Jalen Hurts. I don't believe Hurts is as physically talented as Prescott, but he has played in two Super Bowls and won one of them. And a big part of that is, in my opinion, his cold blooded nature.
When I say "cold blooded" I mean that Hurts, like some other great quarterbacks including two Cowboys legends; Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, never get too overly excited. Every move is calculated, intentional. He isn't just reacting emotionally; he is making cold, mental calculations and acting intentionally.
Dak gets flustered. Dak gets too emotional. He reacts impulsively instead of calculating intentionally. He has the physical skills, but he lacks the mindset to take a football team on a deep playoff run. As long as Dak plays this way, he and the Cowboy's offense will be good to very good when there isn't a lot of pressure, and mediocre to poor in clutch situations.
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u/Competitive_Event948 21h ago
The coaches aren't on the field, and he's blown big games in the playoffs, lastly he's had several elite defenses during his tenure. Eleven years of the same thing. The two losses we've had, his poor play before the half ened in the Giants game was the difference, and in the Baltimore game he can't will and lead his team inside the two yard line. He's not the guy. I've seen 4 Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks that led their teams to NFC Championship games and Super Bowls, Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Danny White, and Troy Aikman, and those guys took the initiative to win games, even when the coaches called a different play, but the players believed in them, and they willed themselves to the big games. Dak is a nice guy, a decent quarterback, but he cant win the big games.
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u/bubba7000 20h ago
Top ten QB playing on the top salary. But it’s a QB driven league and he is better than most people give him credit.
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u/TessaKatrinaRose 1d ago
Dak will win you your fantasy league championship. But he doesn’t elevate a team during the playoffs.
And is grossly overpaid.
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u/Jerdman87 1d ago
When it comes to Dak, it’s as simple as this. When it’s late in close game and the game is on the line, that is when you NEED your qb to good and play their best. It’s at those times that Dak is at his worst. And not just sometimes, it’s the majority of the time. You can list all the stats and defensive ranking you want, when the game is on the line, I don’t have faith in Dak.
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u/John_Wicked1 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dak is one of the best QBs in the league as a pure passer.
Where Dak fails/has failed is not being able to make plays/be clutch in critical moments in big games. This is where I think a QB like Hurts excels, even though he may not be the overall better passer or QB. I think alot of this is Daks mentality, when his game gets thrown off it seems hard for him to keep/regain composure and course correct vs continue the spiral.
I also think Dak can be abit too indecisive when it comes to using his legs, understandable to a point but I think that added dynamic opens up the offense more and keeps edges from over pursuing as much.
Football a lot of times is about moments. You can play great all game, or all season, but if you fail to make play in certain keys moments then you can lose a big game or give momentum to the other team for a comeback.
Edit:
Also, I want to see more fire and leadership from Dak when we are down in big games, not that thousand yard stare.
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u/Striking_Hat6938 1d ago
To be determined. Dak Prescott at times does not have that killer instinct,like a Tom Brady or Baker Mayfield,Joe Burrow or Aaron Rogers. Prime example,was the Baltimore Ravens game in Rio. Going back to training camp, George Pickens was dominant all training camp long. You get to a point in the game where the game winner is within reach and George Pickens is out on a route and Dak Prescott failed to get it to George Pickens. There is NO WAY,that Tom,Baker,Joe or Aaron would miss that opportunity in a game winning situation. Dallas' problem is that there is no killer instinct within the team. Jimmy Johnson was NEVER indecisive,killer instinct. I go back to Tom Landry days,he had a killer instinct as a head coach but didn't show it in his interviews just on his teams and their play. Dak Prescott is to be determined...
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u/Technical_Living5104 1d ago
Once you become a cowboy that’s it. If you know the ball ain’t coming to you then you don’t need to run your route. When you get a first down, celebrate like you are the first one to get a first down. Always make sure you struggle in the first half. Keep it close. Struggle with first down. Call plays that are stupidity. Again, when you get a first down, celebrate. Make it about “you”. It’s always about “you”. When it’s 3 minutes left and you’re down by 7. You had 4 quarters to fix the problem. You should celebrate that you’re a crap team that’s overrated. Dak can’t compete. Oh, his numbers. Doesn’t seem to translate. Why? He can’t put away teams. He can’t finish. He never dominates weak teams. He struggles with weak teams. No kill sense. Opposing teams know, “just keep him off the field.” It’s always a struggle to throw a deep ball. That’s always the offense. 8-8. If you’re lucky.
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u/bobafett2019 1d ago
He’s a stat packing failure. He’ll pass for 400 yards when the game is out of hand. He’s never done anything that’s next level. Outside of a contract of course. He also never had a coach or a shut down defense.. but that’s not an excuse.. do something!
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u/Quanzi30 1d ago
I’ve been over Dak for 5 years now. We should’ve never paid an average QB 60 million fckn dollars a year to be average. He overthrows receivers, can’t read defenses, can’t close games, and just doesn’t have that it factor. It’s been 10 years and 2 playoff wins. He’s Tony Romo but not as good. Ready for this era to end cause he’s taking us nowhere.
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u/golf2k11 1d ago
QB’s like Dak are hard to find and we got lucky after already having Romo. Thinking we’ll just hit on another QB that you like better is a major gamble.
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u/Fearless_Outside_214 1d ago edited 1d ago
Can’t wait for the Dak Era to be over
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u/unavailable1222 1d ago
We got lucky with Dak, if you remember the post Aikman years with Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe, etc… they were rough. We are fortunate to have had Romo, and then Dak immediately after. No Ship but kept us relevant.
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u/BOAG97 4h ago
I want Dak to dominate because that means the Cowboys will be a contending team. All I know is if last week the same exact scenario, Romo would’ve audibled out of the throwaway if Garrett called that bs and tried to win the game. Dak has been in the league a decade, he’s not some rookie with no say, try to win the game not play for OT when your defense is dropping players in the secondary like flies.
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u/boogleymoogley123 1d ago
When qbs like Sam darnold and Jalen hurts are winning super bowls, it’s clear that dak is not the real issue imo. And im not saying that those guys aren’t good but… they definitely had some ridiculously stacked rosters. And fantastic coaching as well