Dak Prescott’s burden: Making the Cowboys champions again

This season, Andscape will document the ups and downs of this Black quarterback fraternity and how each of its members is carrying their specific burden of proof.

When you’re the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, the spotlight is big and bright.

Dak Prescott stepped into that role 10 years ago when he became the starting quarterback for America’s Team. A decade later, the 33-year-old Prescott is the OG of current starting Black quarterbacks.

He also has the most complicated challenge of them all: how to be free in a gilded age.

In his decade with the Cowboys, two Dak Prescotts have emerged — “Regular-Season Dak,” who puts up impressive numbers, and “Playoff Dak,” who has been all but invisible. The team’s postseason collapses during his tenure have been crushing.

This season, Prescott became Dallas’ career leader in touchdown passes even as the team has been up and down. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks so highly of Prescott that he made him one of the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks.

But Prescott faces a haunting reality. The Cowboys haven’t won a championship in 30 years, and Prescott has won just two playoff games. Ultimately, his legacy will be determined by whether he meets an existential challenge: Will “Regular Season Dak” ever become “Championship Dak,” and can either of them make America’s Team great again?

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