The Dallas Cowboys were within striking distance of the Philadelphia Eagles when the NFL delayed Thursday night’s season kickoff due to the threat of lightning. Dallas remained on the wrong end of a 24-20 score that didn’t change after play resumed.
That Dak Prescott had the Cowboys in a position to win at all was something USA Today’s Nate Davis took note of, deeming the former Mississippi State Bulldogs star an individual “winner” from the contest despite his lack of team success.
Within his praise of Prescott, Davis revealed a sad truth about him: his return was overshadowed by Micah Parsons, and the weapons he got back to the field to play with aren’t pulling their weight.
“Despite quarterbacking two of the league's most prominent teams, this duo has largely been out of the headlines in recent months. Hurts, by nature, is a say less, do more kind of guy − and the Super Bowl 59 MVP delivered plenty, efficient through the air while running for a pair of scores. The summer's Parsons saga in Dallas largely overshadowed Prescott's return from a serious hamstring injury that cost him the final nine games of the 2024 season. But he appeared comfortably in command of a Dallas offense that had little trouble moving the ball on a Philly defense that ranked as the league's best in 2024 ... albeit with DT Jalen Carter on the field (more on him later). And while you could ding Prescott for failing to come up with a key sequence in the fourth quarter, the guys who are supposed to be making plays for him ... didn't. It's just one game obviously, but always a good sign when your passer is in postseason-adjacent form in Week 1,” Davis wrote.
Prescott is not one to feel sorry for, except for his being spat on by Eagles DT Jalen Carter right as the game began. That’s understandable. But if you’re overly worried about Prescott after failing to carry the Cowboys to victory, there are hundreds of millions of reasons you shouldn’t.
Specifically, owner Jerry Jones handed him a four-year, $240 million extension last September.
It’s hard not to feel like his talents are being wasted on a team that’s perpetually several moves away from contending, yet spends like a true contender, though. Almost beating Philadelphia is nice, but the truth is, Dallas is, at best, a third-place finisher in the NFC East this season.
While the team should, they won’t bottom out.
Unfortunately for Prescott, he’ll continue to be a “winner” in his matchups despite his team taking the loss.