Jan. 22, 2026, 10:22 p.m. CT

The Dallas Cowboys had an up and down 2025, out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. However, unlike in 2024, the play of quarterback Dak Prescott was not one of the reasons for the subpar record for the Cowboys.

Prescott’s bounce back campaign was one of the bright spots for the team, and for a sizable part of the NFL season, the veteran signal caller was among the top names in the MVP conversation. That talk died down as the Cowboys sunk below .500 and fell out of the playoff race, but ESPN’s advanced stat maven Seth Walder doesn’t believe that should necessarily matter. 

In a recent post of his Top 100 real MVP candidates, Walder states the case for Prescott being in the MVP race, placing him second behind New England Patriots QB Drake Maye.

“Prescott has been absent from the MVP conversation, but I strongly believe that is a mistake. Let’s start with the obvious reason he was ignored: wins. Dallas was 7-9-1. Are we truly incapable of considering the team-sport element of football when voting for awards? With the quarterback for the NFC’s No. 5 seed (Stafford) potentially winning MVP this season, we sometimes draw a distinction between team and player. I believe that same courtesy ought to be extended to great quarterbacks like Prescott who miss the playoffs thanks to his team’s poor defense.

Prescott’s numbers are right there. He ranked fifth in QBR, but his volume metrics were stronger due to the Cowboys’ considerable reliance on him. Prescott added 46.1 points above average, second only to Maye and ahead of Stafford. Prescott ranked third in completion percentage over expected, per NFL Next Gen Stats (plus-4%), and was fourth in off-target rate (11%).

It is harder to play quarterback when trailing because you are forced into more clear passing situations. Prescott played only 26% of his snaps this season with the lead — a dramatic difference from Maye (54%) and Stafford (46%).

The counterargument against Prescott is that he had two exceptional receivers to throw to in George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. While that’s valid, Stafford’s top two receivers are elite, too. Ultimately, Prescott should not be punished for the Cowboys’ decision to trade away Micah Parsons or their general defensive failures. Regardless of Dallas’ place in the standings, the numbers point toward Prescott being the second-most valuable player this season.”

As Walder notes, the Cowboys and Prescott were held back by the defense for much of the year. The bad defensive play forced the team to play from behind in too many games, which meant Prescott had to play flawless football. Many times Prescott answered the bell and gave the team a chance, but it still wasn’t enough.

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It also didn’t help that Prescott had to play behind a subpar pass blocking offensive line. Yet somehow Prescott was still able to throw for 30 touchdowns and had the third-most passing yards in the NFL, all while helping the Cowboys rank as the second best offense in the league.

He’s not going to win the award, but Prescott did have a great season that culminated in his fourth Pro Bowl nod. And while he also likely won’t be near the top of the list when the league announces the upcoming MVP voting, Prescott should receive some votes for an incredible season where he kept the Cowboys in contention.

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