Dak Prescott has never been one to undersell his own team. Heading into the 2026 season, he’s leaned into the hype more than ever. While recently speaking with reporters, Prescott made it clear he isn’t shying away from Super Bowl talk.
He has also framed the postseason as a floor rather than a ceiling, going as far as to promise a playoff run to veteran tackle Quinnen Williams, a player who has never taken a postseason snap in his career. That confidence has fueled a wave of bold predictions around Dallas this offseason.
Jason McCourty Cools Down Dak Prescott’s Hype for Cowboys
Prescott has set the Super Bowl as his target with the Cowboys, and he isn’t backing down on setting high expectations for himself and the team.
“Playing in this organization, being in it 10 years, going into year 11, I’m not going to shy away from it,” he said. “When you don’t have it, it sucks when you don’t get to play for it. When you’re watching other teams play in the playoffs, there’s nothing worse than that. And so, yeah, I said I’d be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys when I was 6 years old and said I’d be in the NFL, and I got here.
“A lot of things in my life, I said I’d do and I did it. And so why shy away from that now? Why shy away from asking people to hold me to the same standard that I believe that I can accomplish and this team can accomplish?”
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Jason McCourty, a former Super Bowl-winning cornerback and current ESPN analyst, pushed back on the idea of Dallas contending for a championship during a recent segment of ESPN’s “Get Up.” While the segment leaned into the idea that Prescott could genuinely be in the MVP conversation this season, McCourty’s broader point cuts through the noise.
“Last year [Dallas] gave up 511 points. That’s what the defense gave up,” McCourty said. “[If] they give up 100 less points this year, that still puts them below the league average from a year ago. So I think when you’re talking about how far they have to grow, you’re not saying that they absolutely can’t do it, but you’re realizing when you look at… where some of the stats are, and then there’s a full screen of all the new players, a new defensive coordinator, brand new defensive coaches.
“You’re asking a lot of a new set of core group of people to not only build chemistry, but also have the production right away in year one to be able to support how well this offense is going to be, and you have to beat the Seattle Seahawks, the L.A. Rams, the Eagles in their division, the 49ers to be able to get to a Super Bowl, teams that are stacked as well.”
The reality check matters because of what came before it. The Cowboys missed the playoffs last season, and Prescott himself has admitted that stretch of the year was a gut check for a team many assumed would contend.
According to PFN’s Defense Impact Metric, Dallas’ defense ranked worst in the league last season with an impact score of 53.4.
This offseason’s additions (a beefed-up defensive front, a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker, and a healthier receiving corps) have generated legitimate optimism. But McCourty’s framing is a reminder that “bold expectations” and “proven results” are two very different things in the NFL, particularly for a franchise that has historically fallen short of its own hype.
It’s worth noting that skepticism from analysts isn’t necessarily a knock on Prescott’s talent. Few would dispute that a healthy Prescott can put up MVP-caliber numbers. The bigger question McCourty and others are raising is whether the supporting cast, especially their defense, can hold up its end long enough to turn regular-season success into a genuine playoff run.
