Dak Prescott Has One Year to Change How We Remember Him. The Clock Is Ticking.

Let’s be real for a second. Dak Prescott is a really good quarterback. He’s been a really good quarterback for a long time. He’s the sixth-ranked QB in the league according to ESPN’s own anonymous polling of executives and coaches. He has a 2-5 playoff record in a decade of work. That last part is the problem.

The Cowboys have the pieces this year. Maybe the best collection of pieces Prescott has ever had. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens form arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL. The offensive line is solid enough. The running game should be credible. Brandon Aubrey is a legitimate weapon at kicker — he might be the best in football. On defense, there’s enough pass rush potential to make offensive coordinators nervous, and the secondary looks like it can hold up.

So what’s the excuse now? There isn’t one.

The window is tighter than it looks

Prescott turns 33 in a couple weeks. That’s not old by quarterback standards anymore. But Father Time doesn’t care about analytics or age-adjusted metrics. He just shows up one day and taps you on the shoulder. Prescott has already had significant injuries. He’s missed games almost every season. The body only has so many hits in it.

Meanwhile, the team around him might not stay this good. Lamb and Pickens together is a luxury. That could change fast. Contracts, free agency, the salary cap. The Cowboys front office isn’t exactly known for keeping superteams together.

This season might be the last real chance Prescott gets to throw to both of those guys. He needs to make it count.

The Tony Romo problem is real

Nobody wants to be the next Tony Romo. That’s not a knock on Romo, who was a fantastic quarterback. But Romo never got the Cowboys to a Super Bowl. He said it himself — that’s the thing that sticks with him. “I gave my whole body, heart, soul, everything into it, and you just wanted that for all the fans,” Romo told NFL.com. “That one always sticks with me a little bit.”

Prescott does not want to give that same interview in five years. He’s one of the most respected guys in the locker room. He has 19 fourth-quarter comebacks on his resume. He’s led 26 game-winning drives. But none of that matters if you can’t get out of the divisional round.

He’s 1-3 at home in the playoffs. The Cowboys haven’t been to an NFC Championship game since 1995. That’s not a Dak Prescott stat. That’s a Dallas Cowboys curse. But it’s his to break now.

The standard is unfair. That doesn’t matter.

The worst part for Prescott is this: He could throw for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns, win MVP, and if the Cowboys lose in the divisional round, people will still say he can’t win the big one. That’s the nature of the job. The bar for Cowboys quarterbacks is higher than the bar for almost anyone else.

But Prescott also has the talent to clear it. He has the team around him. He has the experience. He has the respect of his peers. What he doesn’t have is time. The window is open right now. It won’t stay open forever.

One season. Everything on the line. And the ball is in his hands.