The Dallas Cowboys got back to winning ways in Week 11 when they handily took care of the Las Vegas Raiders in a Monday Night Football fixture. Dominating the game to the tune of 33-16, it seemed like the team had found new life after a busy trade deadline followed by the bye week.
However, the game against the Raiders was also a very emotional night for the entire roster, given all that had transpired in the weeks leading up to it. After the victory, quarterback and team leader Dak Prescott had some beautiful words for everyone watching, as the squad gave a touching tribute to their fallen brother, Marshawn Kneeland.
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys Pay Heartwarming Tribute to Marshawn Kneeland
In one of the most heartbreaking developments of the 2025 season, the NFL world received the tragic news of Kneeland’s passing away. Shockingly, it was his girlfriend who contacted the authorities and informed them about his mental health history.
Unfortunately, her warnings weren’t of much use, as the early morning hours of November 6 brought the news when they found Kneeland deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Earlier that same night, police attempted to perform a traffic stop on him, but lost the vehicle after a pursuit.
As the Dallas locker room received counselling to help them cope with the tragedy, the team even decided to add a decal to their helmets and wear jerseys honoring the young defensive end this week.
After the victory, they even walked around the stadium holding up Kneeland’s jersey to the fans. Next week, when they return to Dallas for a home game, expect another emotionally-charged contest for the Cowboys.
But before we could get there, Prescott, who’s dealt with some gruesome adversity on his own end, shared a beautiful message after the game. “Lots of conversations,” he began speaking about the recovery process.
“It’s not necessarily about, ‘Oh, I’m weak.’ But it’s about being vulnerable. To show courage, you have to show some kind of weakness or something that you need to overcome. It was just a time for us to gather together and understand that this game is bigger.”
“It’s about being vulnerable. To show courage, you have to show some kind of weakness.” ❤️
Dak Prescott talks to @notthefakeSVP after the Cowboys first win following Marshawn Kneeland’s death. pic.twitter.com/k8zTYb20d8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 18, 2025
Earlier in his life, Prescott had to deal with the heartbreaking news of his brother, Jace Prescott, who also committed suicide back in 2020. At the time, he revealed how he had been in a depressed state during that time, and how much the death affected him.
He spoke out about mental well-being back then, too, stating, “Our adversity, our struggles, what we go through, it’s always going to be too much for ourselves. It may be too much for one or two people. But it’s never too much for a community or for the people in the family you love. So we have to share those things.”
It seemed like he was trying to carry forward that same message as the locker room leader to Scott Van Pelt. “It’s about life and these connections that we’re making. The brotherhoods, the friendships. We’ve gotta be there for each other, on the field, off the field.”
Speaking specifically on how the news affected the team, he was candid as he said, “Marshawn was such a kind, caring, and sweet soul that it hurt. It hurt everybody, but we were able to face that grief and use that as a strength for us to move forward.”
It could not have been an easy task for the Dallas players to go out on the field and deliver a performance for the ages, given the recency of the news. But they were able to come together as a team and find that spirit to deliver a showing worthy of praise.
