Dak Prescott Facing Adversity While Finding Success

Being a quarterback is one of the most important positions on a football field. Being the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys comes with very high expectations and responsibilities. Dak Prescott found that out as soon as he stepped into the starting role. Dak Prescott has had his life affected both on the field and off the field since coming into the league.

Dak Prescott played his college football at Mississippi State University and impressed everyone that watched him. His mother Peggy Prescott was his number one supporter and Dak was extremely close with her. In November of 2013, Peggy’s battle with colon cancer took a turn for the worse and she unfortunately passed away. Dak, who has always been a mama’s boy, remembers Peggy with every touchdown he scores. Whether he throws a touchdown to one of his teammates or runs it into the endzone himself, he always points to the sky to remember his mother. For athletes, this is a popular way to thank God or remember their score, but for Cowboys’ fans, they know it’s like Dak giving his mom a high five.

The loss of Peggy Prescott isn’t the only loved one Dak has lost during his career. His brother Jace Prescott also passed away. Jace also played football. He even played the same position as Dak. He died in April of 2020. Dak’s life was severely impacted by the passing of his brother which he shared in an Instagram post. Dak also shared that now pointing to the sky is for both his brother and his mother.

Dak Prescott has proven to be a good quarterback despite the adversity he has faced and the backlash he receives in the media daily. Dak entered the league in 2016 as a rookie and earned the starting job, replacing the former starter and longtime Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo. Romo who injured himself in 2015, re-injured his collarbone in preseason 2016. Prescott was named the starter for the first contest of the regular season and kept the job throughout. Prescott’s rookie season was sensational to watch as he tallied 29 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. He also threw for 3,667 yards and rushed for 282 yards. This gave him 3,949 all purpose yards in year one. Dallas finished 13-3 in the regular season and earned the number one seed in the playoffs before losing in the divisional round 34-31 to the Packers in heartbreaking fashion on a last second field goal. The future certainly looked promising, especially since Dak had formed a great bond with rookie running back Zeke Elliott. However, that wasn’t the case.

Prescott faced more adversity in 2017, when his teammate and closest friend, Zeke Elliott was handed a suspension from playing in the NFL. While the league investigated and different court rulings happened daily, the trial didn’t start until week nine and that is when the suspension was confirmed. Zeke would miss weeks 10-16 of the 2017 season and it cost the Cowboys. Dallas was 5-3 when Zeke’s suspension was made official. Dallas was in a close race with Philadelphia for the division, but the Eagles would pull away from Dallas. The Cowboys went 4-4 without Elliott. They finished with a record of 9-7. They watched their division rival Philadelphia go on to win the NFC East and Super Bowl that season.

Fast forward to 2020, Dak Prescott is sitting in his home in April dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic when he learns the news of his brother Jace’s passing. Adding more stress and adversity to Dak’s life was frustrating for everyone. Dak is loved by everyone in the Cowboys’ organization. Dak was ready to get the season started and devote everything this season to his brother Jace. However, more adversity was added to Prescott’s life in week five of the 2020 season. The Cowboys were hosting the New York Giants. In the third quarter, Dak Prescott scrambled outside the pocket and while being tackled suffered a compound fracture and dislocation on his right ankle. The injury was heartbreaking for everyone in the stadium, watching on TV and on the field with Dak. Prescott received a roaring ovation from all 23,000 fans inside AT&T Stadium as he left the field. Due to the pandemic, AT&T Stadium could only allow a certain amount of fans inside, but those 23,000 in attendance made it sound like the normal amount of 90,000 fans. The injury ended Prescott’s season and backup Andy Dalton took over. This created a lot of doubt for the Cowboys, who were 2-3 after the week 5 victory over the Giants.Dalton led the Cowboys to a 6-10 record and third place in the NFC East. That’s the worst the Cowboys’ record has been since the 2015 season when they went 4-12.

Prescott’s injury is just another hurdle of 2020 in his life that he will have to get over. Prescott said in an Instagram post following the injury,  “This is a minor setback, but I’m ready for a major comeback.”  This is the news Cowboys fans want to hear. Prescott is currently in negotiations with the front office, trying to work out a long term deal to keep him at quarterback in Dallas for seasons to come.