Dak Prescott had quite possibly the best season of his NFL career in 2023.
The Cowboys quarterback posted career-highs in completion percentage and passer rating while throwing for more than 4,500 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also kept turnovers to a minimum, with just nine over 17 starts.
Yet all of that could become background noise without playoff success. The Cowboys have gone nearly three decades without an NFC championship appearance, and this season seemed to be Dallas’ best shot since Prescott’s rookie year at a return to glory.
Prescott’s playoff history is checkered at best. While he has enjoyed some success, he also has suffered severe disappointment, with turnovers frequently hurting him and the Cowboys’ offense.
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Here’s a closer look at Prescott’s playoff record heading into Sunday’s wild-card game against the Packers.
Dak Prescott playoff record
Prescott is 2-4 in the NFL playoffs.
Prescott’s excellent rookie year ended abruptly in 2016, when the Cowboys lost at home to the Packers in the divisional round. Despite the loss, Prescott impressed with 302 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Results since that point have been mixed. Prescott has had just one other playoff game with multiple touchdown passes, tossing four in a brilliant performance against the Buccaneers in the wild-card round last season. The 30-year-old posted a passer rating under 70 in two of his playoff starts, however, both against the 49ers.
Prescott completed less than 54% of his passes and threw an interception in an upset loss to San Francisco in the 2021 playoffs, and he underwhelmed with two interceptions in the divisional round last season as the Cowboys scored only 12 points against the 49ers.
The 2-4 record matches Tony Romo’s playoff record, and Romo faced similar criticism for his struggles to win when it mattered. The Cowboys are aiming higher than just winning in the wild-card round, and to this point, Prescott hasn’t been able to sustain a deep playoff run even with occasional flashes of greatness in the early rounds.
Dak Prescott playoff stats
| Starts | 6 |
| Record | 2-4 |
| Completion rate | 63.4% |
| Yards | 1,559 |
| TD | 11 |
| INT | 5 |
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Dak Prescott contract
Many franchise quarterbacks around the NFL are under long-term contracts after a bevy of high-profile extensions last offseason, but Prescott isn’t one of them. He signed a four-year, $160 million deal to return to the Cowboys in 2021, so he only has one year remaining on his current deal. Prescott is slated to be a free agent after the 2024 season.
With the way Prescott played during the regular season, it’s hard to imagine a quarterback change in Dallas anytime soon. Still, Jerry Jones has made some bold decisions in the past, and it’s becoming clear he’s desperate to win in the playoffs.
With most of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks making north of $50 million annually after the latest round of extensions, the Cowboys will have to pay up to keep Prescott beyond 2024. Even without playoff success, Prescott has plenty of leverage between his regular season success and the demand around the league for stable quarterbacks.
