Why Dak Prescott has become the Cowboys’ new Tony Romo

FRISCO, Texas — The career arcs of Dak Prescott and Tony Romo became so similar that they essentially became the same Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

Each had exceptional success in the regular season, but left lingering questions in the postseason.

They were teammates for one season, in 2016, when rookie Prescott took over after Romo suffered a back injury in the preseason. Prescott has held this position ever since.

They share a beloved underdog narrative; Romo as an undrafted free agent, Prescott as a fourth-round pick. They have been selected for several Pro Bowls. They set team records. They used the power of their position on “Team America” to become household names.

But neither has done what Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman did in winning the Super Bowl, which further ties Prescott and Romo together.

Romo was 2-4 in the playoffs. Prescott sits at 2-5 after Sunday's 48-32 demolition by the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round.

Romo had three chances to advance to an NFC championship game (2007, 2009, 2014) and never made it. Prescott's chance for a fourth down was dashed by the Packers after missed opportunities in 2016, 2018 and 2022.

“It’s not fair to blame everything on Dak or Tony,” said a former teammate of the two. “Everyone had to do it.”

While this is true, the Cowboys quarterback bears the brunt of the responsibility.

SINCE 1980, KEN Anderson is the only quarterback to start his team for more consecutive seasons than Prescott will have in 2024 (nine) before going to a Super Bowl for the first time. He was in his 10th season as the starter for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1981.

Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan made their first Super Bowl appearances in their ninth seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. Manning had won two NFL MVPs before appearing in his first Super Bowl in 2006 and had to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dynasty.

“Some guys, like Troy, it happens right away and you win championships,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said of Aikman's first Super Bowl now in his fourth season. “[Patrick] Mahomes, guys like that, it happens to them.

“But there are other guys that sometimes it takes time to continue to learn the game, to get better. I certainly think Dak falls into that category, and I think Tony was in that category before the injuries .”

Age favors Prescott's opportunity for at least one more run.

Romo was 34 for his last chance in 2014, his last full season, with a body that was faltering mainly because of back problems that required multiple surgeries.

Although the lasting memory of that 26-21 divisional-round loss to the Packers was Dez Bryant's overturned catch late in the fourth quarter, there was one from Romo that day, too. About an hour after that crushing defeat in sweltering temperatures outside Lambeau Field, he shared a long hug with his family before boarding the team bus, as if he knew he wouldn't have not a better chance.

Prescott turns 31 in July and has played every game this season for the first time since 2019, while leading the NFL in touchdown passes (36). Like Romo, he suffered serious injuries, such as a dislocated and fractured right ankle in 2020, and a broken right thumb that forced him to miss five games in 2022, but he believes his off-field habits made him stronger and more durable.

“You always look at the greats and what they do, and you see guys like LeBron [James]Tom Brady, have these methods and spend millions of dollars on their body every year, and you wonder why,” Prescott said. “And it's obvious when they play as long as they have played at such a high level that this is what I need to do to feel comfortable.”

THE BIG QUESTION For the Cowboys regarding Prescott, this offseason is not about health, but about the contract.

He is about to enter the final year of his contract and will count $59.4 million against the 2024 salary cap. Dallas' options this offseason include:

• Extend Prescott's contract, which would make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, but give them space to retain their own players or add free agents.

• Simply playing out Prescott's final year, knowing they won't be able to use the franchise tag on him in 2025, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.

• Adding more voidable years to his contract to make his 2024 cap number more palatable, while also knowing they will add more dead money to the cap in future years.

In 2013, the Cowboys faced a similar contract dilemma with Romo. They were unable to put the franchise tag on him due to contract terms, and he signed a six-year, $108 million extension through 2019 that included $40 million in guaranteed money. At the time of signing, the annual average of $18 million made Romo the sixth highest paid quarterback.

Like Romo then, Prescott now holds leverage in negotiations — although, unlike in 2013, the Cowboys have a young quarterback that intrigues them in 2021, third overall pick Trey Lance, whom they acquired from the San Francisco 49ers early in the season for a fourth-round draft pick. Lance, 23, hasn't taken a snap this season and has 102 career pass attempts.

Three years ago, Prescott outlasted the Cowboys in contract negotiations, turning a year of franchise play into a four-year, $160 million deal with $126 million guaranteed despite a serious ankle injury. His annual average of $40 million currently places him as the 10th highest-paid quarterback.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones, along with Stephen Jones, have said they envision Prescott being the Cowboys' starter in the future.

But will that future include a Super Bowl appearance?

JERRY JONES SAID his biggest regret as owner and general manager is not winning the Super Bowl with Romo as quarterback. After beating the Philadelphia Eagles in December, Jones said he would be “just as” disappointed if Prescott didn't make it to a Super Bowl.

“Dak is a qualified player in every way to win a Super Bowl in his career,” Jones said then.

Romo's best chance to make the Super Bowl came in 2007, when the Cowboys finished 13-3 and had home-field advantage in Wade Phillips' first season as coach. The Cowboys lost in the divisional round to the New York Giants, whom they had beaten twice in the regular season and won the Super Bowl.

In 2014, when Romo had his best season, he was in his ninth year as the Cowboys' starter (eighth full season). The Cowboys went 12-4 and won the NFC East. He threw 34 touchdown passes and was intercepted just nine times in 15 starts. He led the NFL in completion percentage (69.9%), QBR (79.2), quarterback rating (113.2) and yards per attempt (8.5).

In 2015, Romo broke his left collarbone twice and started four games. In 2016, he injured his back in a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks and played one regular-season drive — a touchdown — because Prescott played so well. In 2017, Romo joined the CBS broadcast booth.

“I know deep down he felt he was at his best mentally when it came to the game, that if he was healthy he could play the game as well as he does. never could have,” said Stephen Jones. “But health got him.”

Prescott just concluded his eighth full season as the Cowboys' starter. Dallas went 12-5 and won the NFC East. He led the NFL in touchdown passes with 36 and was intercepted nine times. Among full-time starting quarterbacks, he led the NFL in completion percentage (69.5%) and was second in QBR (72.9), quarterback rating (105.9) and in passing yards (4,516).

The Cowboys were primed for a run to the NFC Championship Game with two home games at AT&T Stadium as a No. 2 seed, only to fall apart on Sunday. Prescott was intercepted twice in the first half, including one that was returned for a touchdown and increased Green Bay's lead to 27-0 late in the second quarter.

FOR EVERYONE After his success in the regular season, Prescott was unable to match that level in the postseason. That's something Romo didn't do either.

This leaves the lingering question: “Why?” »

“It’s hard to give you that answer when I’ve just been there and we’ve just done it,” Prescott said. “Unfortunately, that's what the offseason is for — and it's a long one. Yeah, I wish I could give you that answer.”

Prescott's performance against the Packers was unlike any other in a 17-game regular season.

“Dak's arrow is still straight,” Stephen Jones said a few days before the Packers' loss. I think the best football is in front of him. He keeps getting better, and then he has all the other intangibles that go with his skillset, which are strong enough to be special.”

But Prescott knows what Romo knew before him: Nothing matters if you don't win a Super Bowl in Dallas.

“It’s about winning and winning the playoffs,” Prescott said after the Packers’ loss, “and getting to the last game and winning it, too.”