Cowboys' Dak Prescott hunting for first Super Bowl: Ranking QB's nine seasons by contention status

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FRISCO, Texas -- Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman are Dallas Cowboys legends.

One can't go to a Cowboys home game at AT&T Stadium, even today, without seeing fans rocking their jerseys. That's because of their Super Bowl legacies with Dallas: Staubach winning two and Aikman winning three. Those five Super Bowl trophies are some of the first things anyone sees upon walking into The Star in Frisco, Texas -- Dallas' team headquarters. They are displayed on a shelf just to the right of the main atrium upon walking through the front door of the facility.

Current Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott is entering his 10th NFL season as Dallas' starter, and he's within striking distance of both the franchise's all-time passing yards (34,183 to Prescott's 31,437) and passing touchdowns (248 to Prescott's 213) records, both of which are held by his predecessor Tony Romo. Given his close proximity to those accolades and entering Year 10 of his NFL career, Prescott's desire to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the Cowboys burns brightly. So much so his top motivation for a Super Bowl victory is perhaps his own peace of mind.

"Yeah, I want to win a championship. The legacy, whatever comes after I finish playing, will take care of itself," Prescott said at Cowboys mandatory minicamp last week. "I want to win a championship. Be damned if it's just for my legacy, or if it's for this team, it's for my personal being, for my sanity. Yeah, the legacy will take care of itself. I have to stay where my feet are."

While Prescott is staying rooted in the present, let's rank how close the Cowboys have come to winning it all in his first nine seasons and then look ahead at their title hopes for the 2025 season.

9. 2020

Cowboys record: 6-10 (missed playoffs)
Scoring offense: 24.7 PPG (17th in NFL)
Scoring defense: 29.6 PPG allowed (28th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 68% completion percentage, 1,856 yards passing, 9 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 99.6 passer rating

Individually, Prescott was off to a historic start to the 2020 campaign. He threw for 1,690 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions in Dallas' first four games. That put him on pace to throw for 6,790 yards that year, which would have shattered the NFL's single-season record of 5,477 set by 2013 NFL MVP Peyton Manning. However, the Cowboys went just 1-3 in those four games with Dallas' defense under then-defensive coordinator Mike Nolan's riding the struggle bus.

The Cowboys' season unofficially ended when their quarterback suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in Week 5 against the New York Giants. That's why 2020 was Dallas' season that was the furthest away from Super Bowl contention in Prescott's career.

8. 2024

Cowboys record: 7-10 (missed playoffs)
Scoring offense: 20.6 PPG (21st in NFL)
Scoring defense: 27.5 PPG allowed (31st in NFL)
Prescott stats: 64.7% completion percentage, 1,978 yards passing, 11 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 86.0 passer rating

Dallas struggled to get the run game going following the free agency departure of Pro Bowl running back Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans: the Cowboys averaged 82.0 yards rushing per game in the first nine weeks of the season. That was the second-lowest figure in the league in the first half of the season ahead of only the Las Vegas Raiders' 76.9 yards rushing per game. The Cowboys defense struggled to transition from Dan Quinn's defensive scheme to Mike Zimmer's, and Prescott tore his hamstring in Week 9 at the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cowboys found life after turning over the ground game to running back Rico Dowdle after Prescott went down for the year, but this was a team that failed to launch.

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7. 2017

Cowboys record: 9-7 (missed playoffs)
Scoring offense: 22.1 PPG (14th in NFL)
Scoring defense: 20.8 PPG allowed (13th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 62.9% completion percentage, 3,324 yards passing, 22 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 86.6 passer rating

The Cowboys missed running back Ezekiel Elliott during his six-game suspension from Weeks 10-15, going 3-3 in that stretch that included three double-digit blowout defeats. Prescott suffered a sophomore slump in his second NFL season after missing his All-Pro backfield mate.

6. 2019

Cowboys record: 8-8 (missed playoffs)
Scoring offense: 27.1 PPG (6th in NFL)
Scoring defense: 20.1 PPG allowed (11th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 65.1% completion percentage, 4,902 yards passing, 30 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 99.7 passer rating

Prescott certainly played well enough to get Dallas within shouting distance of a wild-card spot, but the Cowboys couldn't quite catch enough breaks in one-score games. Six of their eight defeats that season were by one possession, and Dallas finished the season with a +113 point differential, the sixth-best in the NFL. Every other team with a top-10 point differential that season reached the postseason except Dallas, which is why that year marked the last for coach Jason Garrett.

5. 2023

Cowboys record: 12-5 (Lost 48-32 vs. Packers in NFC wild-card round)
Scoring offense: 29.9 PPG (1st in NFL)
Scoring defense: 18.5 PPG allowed (5th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 69.5% completion percentage, 4,516 yards passing, 36 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 105.9 passer rating

The 2023 season was the most efficient year of Prescott's nine-year career, and the first in franchise history that a Cowboys quarterback led the NFL outright in passing touchdowns. His connection with All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb led to Dallas' latest No. 88 to lead the NFL in catches (135) while ranking second in the league in receiving yards (1,749). Both of those totals broke single-season records in Cowboys history that were set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin in 1995, the last Super Bowl season for Dallas.

Cornerback DaRon Bland exploded onto the scene with an NFL-best nine interceptions, five of which were interception return touchdowns -- an NFL single-season record. Yet, Dallas showed up unready to play in the postseason as the NFC's No. 2 seed, losing 48-32 in the opening round against the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys fell behind 27-0 after a 64-yard pick six thrown by Prescott. Dallas had everything it needed to win it all on paper, but the team inexplicably melted down come playoff time.

DAK PRESCOTT 2023 SEASON STATS		NFL QB RANK
Comp Pct	69.5%	2nd
Pass Yards/Att	7.7	6th
Pass Yards	4,516	3rd
Pass TD	36	1st
TD-INT	36-9	2nd
Passer Rating	105.9	2nd
EPA/Play	0.18	2nd

4. 2021

Cowboys record: 12-5 (Lost 23-17 vs. 49ers in NFC wild-card round)
Scoring offense: 31.2 PPG (1st in NFL)
Scoring defense: 21.1 PPG allowed (7th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 68.8% completion percentage, 4,449 yards passing, 37 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 104.2 passer rating

Prescott threw a career-high 37 touchdowns, cornerback Trevon Diggs led the NFL with 11 interceptions and 2021 first-round pick linebacker Micah Parsons won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after racking up 13 sacks. However, the Cowboys literally ran out of time 24 yards away from the game-winning score after Dallas couldn't get the football spiked in time after a 17-yard scramble by Prescott.

3. 2022

Cowboys record: 12-5 (Lost 19-12 at 49ers in NFC divisional round)
Scoring offense: 27.5 PPG (4th in NFL)
Scoring defense: 20.1 PPG allowed (5th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 66.2% completion percentage, 2,860 yards passing, 23 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 91.1 passer rating

Dallas weathered a right thumb injury that sidelined Prescott for five games, winning four of backup quarterback Cooper Rush's five starts. That injury may have contributed to Prescott tossing an NFL-most 15 interceptions that season. The Cowboys couldn't get past the 49ers once again in the postseason after two critical interceptions by Prescott in which he forced the football to both Lamb and Michael Gallup.

2. 2018

Cowboys record: 10-6 (Lost 30-22 at Rams in NFC divisional round)
Scoring offense: 21.2 PPG (22nd in NFL)
Scoring defense: 20.3 PPG allowed (6th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 67.7% completion percentage, 3,885 yards passing, 22 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 96.9 passer rating

Elliott had one of his best seasons, leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,434), rushing yards per game (95.6) and carries (304). However, Dallas got run over in Los Angeles in the NFC divisional round with the Rams ripping off 273 yards and three touchdowns on the ground with both Todd Gurley (115 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries) and C.J. Anderson (123 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries) going over the century mark. This defeat wasn't on Prescott.

1. 2016

Cowboys record: 13-3 (Lost 34-31 vs. Packers in NFC divisional round)
Scoring offense: 26.3 PPG (5th in NFL)
Scoring defense: 19.1 PPG allowed (5th in NFL)
Prescott stats: 67.8% completion percentage, 3,667 yards passing, 23 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 104.9 passer rating

Prescott stunned the NFL after transforming from a third-string backup in the preseason to earning 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Elliott earned the sole first-team All-Pro selection of his career as a rookie, leading the NFL in yards rushing (1,631), rushing yards per game (108.7) and carries (322). His 15 rushing touchdowns ranked as the third-most in the league.

After earning the NFC's No. 1 seed, Dallas cruised into the divisional round on a bye. Prescott's playoff inexperience was evident early after he and the Cowboys fell behind 21-3 against the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers. However, Prescott rallied Dallas all the way back to a 31-31 tie after throwing for 302 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Rodgers pulled a rabbit out of the hat on a rollout to the left that ended with a 36-yard laser to tight end Jared Cook with three seconds left. That set up Packers kicker Mason Crosby's game-winning 51-yard field goal, which ended Dallas' best shot at a Super Bowl with Prescott under center to date.

2025 lookahead

Super Bowl odds: +4500 (18th-best in NFL per Caesars Sportsbook)

With a slightly more experienced offensive line and a legit No. wide receiver in George Pickens, the Cowboys' passing game should look more like it did in 2023 than it did in 2024. The 2025 season will mark the third consecutive season with a new defensive coordinator in Dallas -- this time it's former Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus.

Dallas' defense could make a leap as the season progresses with cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and Shavon Revel Jr. returning from injury and then when linebacker DeMarvion Overshown potentially returns on Thanksgiving. Brian Schottenheimer signed a four-year contract to be Dallas' new coach. At some point across the next four seasons, he expects Dallas to win big and have coordinators poached to be other NFL teams' coaches. Maybe Dallas can overcome the odds and do so in 2025.

"We look for opportunities for the younger coaches to get up in front of position groups and lead meetings and do things," Schottenheimer said last week. "We give them projects all the time because we're going to win. And when we win, our coaching staff is going to get raided and people are going to come after our coaches because we're going to win."