Over the past decade, Dak Prescott has set all sorts of records for the Dallas Cowboys, and it certainly didn't take him long to start doing so.
Taken in the fourth round of the 2016 draft at No. 135 overall, the Mississippi State alum wasn't supposed to see the field as a rookie, as he came into training camp as QB3 behind Tony Romo and Kellen Moore. But after Moore went down with a broken right tibia the first week of camp and Romo suffered a vertebral compression fracture in the Cowboys' third preseason game, Prescott got the QB1 job and never gave it back.
Dak ultimately led America's Team to a 13-3 regular-season record, thus setting a new mark for wins by a Dallas rookie quarterback, while also setting new rookie records for most completions (311), most completions in a single game (32), most pass attempts (459), most passing yards (3,667), highest passer rating (104.9), most fourth-quarter comebacks (5), and, of course, touchdown passes (23). So, it's pretty clear why Romo opted to concede the starting role to Prescott even when he was healthy enough to come back.
In the years since, Prescott has gone on to set new career Cowboys records in several categories, but touchdown passes isn't quite yet one of them. But assuming Dak, who currently has 243 regular-season TD passes to his credit, doesn't get injured during training camp or in the early weeks of the regular season, that will soon change, as he only trails Romo by five.
And given how the Cowboys' schedule works out, Prescott could very well break the record with Romo in the building when Dallas takes on the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3.
Dak Prescott needs six TD passes to surpass Tony Romo as the Cowboys' all-time leader
For those unaware, Prescott has sat in the second position behind Romo for quite some time, as he surpassed Troy Aikman when he threw his final pass of the 2022 season against the Washington Commanders in Week 18, thus giving him 166 for his career to put him one ahead of the three-time Super Bowl champ.
He also passed Roger Staubach and Danny White earlier that same season, which rounds out the top five touchdown-pass leaders in Cowboys history, which currently shakes out as follows:
Cowboys QB | Reg. Season Games | Reg. Season TD Passes |
|---|---|---|
Tony Romo | 156 | 248 |
Dak Prescott | 139 | 243 |
Troy Aikman | 165 | 165 |
Danny White | 166 | 155 |
Roger Staubach | 131 | 153 |
Now, the matchup with the Ravens is already historic, as it marks the first-ever NFL game to be contested in Rio de Janeiro, as the previous games held in Brazil these last couple of years were played in São Paulo.
But Prescott will naturally be hoping it turns out to be historic for another reason, assuming he can get four or five touchdown passes over the first two weeks of the season against the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, that is.
As mentioned, Romo should be in the building in Brazil, as CBS was given the game at Maracanã Stadium on Sunday, September 27, and one can only assume that he and Jim Nantz will be on the call. And if Dak does indeed surpass Romo that day, one can bet that Nantz will give Romo his well-deserved flowers for what he did in Dallas for all those years.
And along those same lines, Prescott would undoubtedly do the same in a postgame presser, as it's been clear for a decade that he has nothing but the utmost respect for his predecessor. Throw in a Cowboys win that day, and it'd be quite the beautiful Brazil day for America's Team.
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