It's certainly no secret that those who root for the Dallas Cowboys aren't big fans of Joe Montana.
While Steve Young had already taken over under center for the San Francisco 49ers when America's Team battled the Niners three straight years in the NFC Championship Game during the dynastic Dallas run in the early 1990s, Cowboys fans certainly haven't forgotten about what Montana did to them in the conference title game of the 1981 campaign, as he famously hooked up with tight end Dwight Clark for "The Catch" that ultimately earned San Francisco a 28-27 victory and a trip to Super Bowl 16, where they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first of four times in the 1980s.
So, when we took a look at some all-time leaderboards heading into the upcoming 2026 season and noticed that Dak Prescott has a shot at surpassing Montana in both passing yards and touchdown passes, we figured folks might want to know about it. Throw in the fact that Dak also has a shot at cracking the all-time top 25 in yards and the top 20 in TD passes, and it's even better.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott needs 4,563 yards to surpass Joe Montana on the all-time list
Through 10 seasons with the Cowboys, Prescott has thrown for 35,989 yards in 139 regular-season games, which currently has him in the No. 32 position on the all-time list. We're not going to run down the entire leaderboard here, but we'll list those Dak is within 5,000 yards of, starting with Kerry Collins at No. 23.
- 23. Kerry Collins: 40,922
- 24. Joe Montana: 40,551
- 25. Johnny Unitas: 40,239
- 26. Andy Dalton: 39,793
- 27. Jared Goff: 39,622
- 28. Dave Krieg: 38,147
- 29. Boomer Esiason: 37,920
- 30. Donovan McNabb: 37,276
- 31. Matt Hasselbeck: 36,638
- 32. Dak Prescott: 35,989
- 33. Patrick Mahomes: 35,939
As you can see, Prescott needs 4,563 yards to surpass Montana, who currently owns the No. 24 slot at 40,551. That would be a big 2026 for Dak, of course, but he did just go for 4,552 in 2025, so it's certainly doable. If he could match the career best of 4,902 he hit back in 2019, he'd obviously cruise past Montana, but that's a lot to ask.
As for getting into the top 25, that's going to depend on how the other active QBs you see here fare. Andy Dalton sits in 26th, but unless something happens to Jalen Hurts, he's not likely to see many snaps for the Philadelphia Eagles.
That's obviously not the case for the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff, who holds the No. 27 slot, and of course, we had to include Patrick Mahomes, who sits directly behind Dak at No. 33. So, we just have to wait and see how things play out with those guys, but if Prescott can get past Montana, he's got a good shot.
Dak Prescott needs 31 touchdown passes to move past Joe Montana on the all-time list
As far as touchdown passes are concerned, Prescott has thrown 243 during the regular season, putting him at No. 33 on the all-time list.
Again, we won't run through the entire leaderboard, but for this particular exercise, let's go with everyone he's within 50 of, starting with the great Warren Moon at No. 17.
- 17. Warren Moon: 291
- 18. Johnny Unitas: 290
- 19. Vinny Testaverde: 275
- 20. Joe Montana: 273
- 21. Joe Flacco: 272
- 22. Patrick Mahomes: 267
- 23. Dave Krieg: 261
- 24. Derek Carr: 257
- 25. Jared Goff: 256
- 26. Sonny Jurgensen: 255
- T27. Andy Dalton: 254
- T27. Dan Fouts: 254
- 29. Drew Bledsoe: 251
- 30. Tony Romo: 248
- 31. Boomer Esiason: 247
- 32. John Hadl: 244
- 33. Dak Prescott: 243
As you can see, Prescott needs 31 to surpass Montana, a number he's reached twice in his career, tossing a career-high 37 in 2021 and 36 in 2023. He's also hit 30 on the number twice, first in 2019 and then again just this past year. So, again, getting past the original "Joe Cool" is extremely doable here.
Now, whether that would also result in getting into the top 20 remains to be seen, as, again, there are plenty of other active QBs on the list. But the top 25 should be a lock. And as we're sure you noticed, sitting just a few spots ahead at No. 30 is none other than Tony Romo, who, as Prescott has thus far, played his entire career in a Cowboys uniform. As such, Dak is just six away from becoming the all-time leader in Dallas history in this category.
So, we could certainly be in for plenty of history from Prescott in 2026.
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