As Dak Prescott stepped to the podium following the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, fans chanted “MVP! MVP! MVP!” through the glass from one of the club areas at AT&T Stadium.
Prescott completed 24 of 39 passes for 217 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed three times for 11 yards. Despite the solid performance, Prescott felt he didn’t meet his own standards.
“Solid enough to get the win,” Prescott said. “I’ve told you before, I’m my biggest critic. Obviously, not my best game. … Did enough to win, but I always want to do better.”
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones had a more forgiving view.
“Dak Prescott, for anyone that might have a question about it, for him to come in here and play like that against Philadelphia, he should have his due,” Jones said. “That ought to shut that door of questioning his ability to play in a playoff-type game.”
Questions about Prescott will persist until he achieves significant playoff success. He holds a 2-4 postseason record, and the Cowboys haven’t advanced past the divisional round.
However, Prescott is in the best stretch of his career, with 23 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in his last eight games. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of the last seven games, tying a team single-season record held by Tony Romo.
Over the last six weeks, Prescott’s odds of winning the MVP have improved from 60-to-1 (12th best) to a league-best +175.
“First of all, as far as what it represents, which would be his importance to the team, he doesn’t have to win that award for me to know how important he is to our aspirations this year, where we are and where we’ve got a chance to go,” Jones said.
Dallas Cowboys (Credits: NFL)
“He’s got that kind of appreciation from I think everybody in this organization.”
Prescott leads the NFL with 28 touchdown passes and has been intercepted only six times in 13 games, after tying for the NFL lead last year with 15 interceptions despite playing in just 12 games. However, he couldn’t shake off a sack-fumble that led to the Eagles’ only touchdown on Sunday.
“It’s a feeling that sucks,” he admitted.
Nonetheless, Prescott rebounded to lead the Cowboys to three field goal drives after the turnover, completing nine of 12 passes for 109 yards.
“I hold myself to super-high standards,” Prescott said, “and, yeah, if I play my best game, we’re putting up 50 out there. So that’s not going to change, and I’m going to keep pushing for that. That’s the work that I put into this thing, the preparation that I do.”
At 10-3, the Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East, holding a tiebreaker edge over the Eagles. However, if both teams win out, Philadelphia would claim the division title and earn at least one home playoff game.
The San Francisco 49ers (10-3) currently hold the No. 1 spot in the NFC with their wins against both the Cowboys and Eagles.
The Cowboys will play three of their final four games on the road, including next week at Buffalo and on Christmas Eve at Miami.
If Prescott continues to lead the Cowboys to victories, he could become the franchise’s second MVP winner. Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith won the award in 1993, helping the Cowboys to a second straight Super Bowl.
Prescott’s ultimate goal isn’t the MVP award, but winning a Super Bowl. It’s something he thinks about daily, as does Jones.
“Dak is a player who is qualified in every way to have a Super Bowl in his career,” Jones said.
