This past Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys were officially eliminated from postseason contention, as the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East with a 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders.
But that didn't stop Dak Prescott from going out on Sunday and giving his all against the Los Angeles Chargers, completing 70.0 percent of his passes for 244 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions to earn a 116.5 passer rating.
Of course, his strong performance went to waste with America's Team taking a 34-17 defeat, as the Dallas defense could do nothing to slow down the Chargers' offense, which tallied a season-high 452 total yards. But that's just how the vast majority of this season has gone, as Matt Eberflus' unit has wasted one of the best overall seasons of Prescott's 10-year career.
With the Cowboys having nothing to play for outside of avoiding back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in two decades, it would be easy to sit Dak down over the final two weeks, so that he doesn't suffer some sort of major injury that could hinder his 2026 campaign. But that's not what he wants. And just because Dallas as a whole has nothing on the line, Prescott does, as he's put himself in position to become the first quarterback in Cowboys history ever to lead the NFL in passing yards.
Dak Prescott is set to battle Matthew Stafford for the passing yards title down the stretch
It's wild to think that no Dallas quarterback has ever led the league in passing since the team was founded in 1960, but that is genuinely the case.
Tony Romo had a shot when he threw for a franchise-record 4,903 yards in 2012, but he actually finished third behind Drew Brees (5,177) and Matthew Stafford (4,967). And Prescott gave it a run in 2019 with 4,902 yards (yes, he seriously finished one yard short of Romo's record) but finished second to Jameis Winston (5,109).
With his 244-yard outing against the Chargers, Dak now has 4,175 yards for the year, putting him just four behind Stafford, who has racked up 4,179 for the Los Angeles Rams. Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions is in the mix as well, sitting at third with 4,036.
The Cowboys' final two opponents are the Commanders and the New York Giants, and Dak dominated both earlier this season, throwing for 361 yards against New York in Week 2 and 264 against Washington in Week 7. Whether Prescott goes for another 625 yards in these two games obviously remains to be seen, but that figure would likely get the job done.
And as mentioned, Prescott wants to play. When asked about how we would approach the final two weeks following the loss to the Bolts, Dak said exactly what you'd expect, given his competitive nature.
"Honestly, I guess it's different when you do this, and I'm not firing any shots, but I've said it over and over," Prescott said. "This is our job. Like, we're blessed. You know how hard we've worked and the sacrifices we've [made] to even get to this league? To get to 10 years in, for myself? To be healthy?
"I said it to the team ... this game has given us so much; how could you cheat it? And so to answer, I don't know anything else. I'm not going to cheat this game. I'm going to give this game everything that I have, and that's just how my mind works."
Dak Prescott deserves this passing title, and Cowboys fans everywhere will be cheering for him to get it done. And not to get hurt, of course.