Moore or Less: Dak Prescott Has Run Out of Excuses

By Merv Moore  |  Shop in Seagoville  |  June 16, 2026

I am not here to bury Dak Prescott.

I am here to tell the truth about him. And right now, the truth is not pretty.

Two straight seasons without the playoffs. A 2-5 career record in the postseason. A Super Bowl drought that now stretches 30 years. And a quarterback carrying close to $74 million against the cap in 2026.

You do the math.

I know what the stat-huggers will say. They always do.

“But Merv, he threw for 4,552 yards in 2025! He had 30 touchdowns! He made the Pro Bowl!”

Yes. He did all of that. And the Dallas Cowboys went 7-9-1 and stayed home in January. Again.

Here is what I know about great quarterbacks.

Tom Brady did not make excuses. He made Super Bowls. Patrick Mahomes does not point at his yards-per-game average when his team loses. He finds a way to win.

Dak Prescott is a very good quarterback. I have always said that. But very good is not good enough when you are being paid like a god and performing like a mortal every January.

The excuses have been many. And they have been real.

The ankle in 2020. The thumb in 2022. The hamstring in 2024 that cost him eight games. These were not small injuries. These were painful. These were hard.

But injuries are part of this game. Every quarterback fights through something. The ones who become legends find a way to win when it matters most. Dak has not done that. Not yet.

Look at his playoff record. Two wins, five losses.

In those five losses, Dallas has been outscored badly. The Cowboys fell behind 27-0 to a seventh-seeded Green Bay team and never recovered. They blew a massive lead to San Francisco in 2023.

Prescott himself said after the Packers loss that he “sucked.” That was honest. That was refreshing. But honesty without improvement is just confession.

I am not blaming Dak for everything.

The Dallas Cowboys defense has been a disaster. Jerry Jones has made poor decisions for years. The coaching carousel has been real. Those things matter.

But the quarterback is the face of the franchise. He sets the tone. He controls the moment. When the Cowboys needed their best in the biggest games, Dak was not at his best. That is the cold, hard fact.

Now comes 2026. Year 11. Age 33.

Prescott himself said after the 2025 season: “It’s exciting knowing in Year 10 I’m playing my best, and I’m only going to get better.” (ESPN)

I hope he means it. I really do.

Because the window for this Dallas Cowboys team is not wide open. It is cracking. Dallas traded a 2027 first-round pick for Quinnen Williams trying to fix the defense. That is a massive bet. The Cowboys are all-in. Again.

So here it is, Dak.

You have the arm. You have the weapons. You have the paycheck. You have the coach.

You have run out of excuses.

No more pointing at stats. No more moral victories. No more “I’m only going to get better.” Show us.

Dak Prescott — The Record That Matters

Sources: Pro Football Reference, ESPN, CBS Sports, StatMuse. Stats verified June 2026.

Merv Moore is the Editor-in-Chief of Shop in Seagoville — Local News. Local Deals. Local People. His Moore or Less column is hard-hitting, opinionated, and not always comfortable. That is the point.