Dak Prescott shows signs of frustration as Cowboys stare down elimination from playoffs

ARLINGTON — The burden or the pressures of being the face of the franchise seemed to show on the face of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Late Sunday night, he sat behind a microphone wearing a black mock turtleneck with a chain, expressing his disappointment. In the last week, Prescott — and you could also add Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow — joined the list of franchise quarterbacks expressing frustration with their current state.

In Burrow’s case, his comments after the Bengals were eliminated from playoff contention created a stir about his future in Cincinnati.

Prescott isn’t going anywhere.

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Even if the Cowboys wanted to move on from Prescott, which they don’t, he’s got a no-trade clause.

After a 34-26 loss to the Vikings, Prescott gave off the impression he didn’t want to talk about the reality of his current situation, and you also began to wonder about his own future.

The loss virtually eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention, a place Prescott didn’t expect to reside a little more than a week before Christmas.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) congratulates Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J....

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) congratulates Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) following their 34-26 loss at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, December 14, 2025.

Tom Fox / Staff Photographer

“Yeah, definitely surprised, especially after the bye week and the trades got [us] rolling like we did for those few weeks, and then watch the confidence just skyrocket,” Prescott said. ”[We] stopped teams scoring at will, coming back from 21 points [against Philadelphia]. Just a lot of good wins there to be in this position. Just reminds you that every play matters. It’s a hard game. Those guys get paid, too. They practice throughout the week and prepare no different than we do. It’s tough. I’m definitely surprised, hurt, pissed off, frustrated, but all I can do is get better tomorrow.”

The Cowboys were 3-5-1 before moves at the trade deadline were geared to helping the defense. A season-high three-game win streak, with wins over the Eagles and Chiefs — two teams that played in the Super Bowl last year —fueled so much hype.

Now, after a two-game losing streak that pushed the record to 6-7-1, the Cowboys have a 1% chance of reaching the postseason. To do that, they must win their three remaining games, starting this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Eagles, in first place in the NFC East, would need to lose their three remaining games, a possibility that does exist, but if we’re being honest with ourselves most likely won’t happen.

So Prescott, with three games to go in Year 10 of his career, is faced with missing the postseason for a second consecutive year. It would be the second time Prescott has gone consecutive seasons without reaching the postseason.

At 32, you only get so many cracks at achieving your goals and, in Prescott’s eyes, that’s Super Bowls.

His contemporaries — Jared Goff, 31, Jalen Hurts, 27, Burrow, 29, Patrick Mahomes, 30 — have already played in Super Bowls. Mahomes has three titles. Hurts has one.

Matthew Stafford, at the tender age of 37, is playing for a Rams team in title contention. He gives Prescott hope he can win a title or at least get to the Super Bowl in his 30s. Stafford was 33 when he won a title with the Rams in the 2021 season.

This isn’t to say Prescott is running out of time. He’s signed through 2028. He currently leads the NFL in completions, attempts, passing yards and yards per game.

But his team isn’t favored to play in the middle of January. You know, in meaningful games.

You can talk about the defensive ineptitude, an ongoing issue, as part of the problem.

But on Sunday night, Prescott didn’t throw a touchdown pass, led an offense that went 2-12 on third downs, and despite compiling 423 yards of offense, couldn’t finish the drives necessary to get touchdowns.

The disappointment in this Cowboys season can’t be placed on Prescott. He’s done his part with an offense ranked near the top of several categories for a majority of the season.

“We didn’t do things necessary to win, didn’t score in the red zone and coming into this game, we couldn’t get an answer for cover zero and we didn’t score in the red zone,” he said. “You add those two things together and you’re going to lose by I guess at the end of it by eight. And yeah, it’s unfortunate, it sucks, but it’s the reality of the NFL. This s–t’s hard.”

Twitter: @calvinwatkins

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