There is no denying that Dak Prescott had a down season in 2024 by his standards. Prescott was the runner-up in the 2023 MVP race (Lamar Jackson), finishing the year with a league-high 36 passing touchdowns. But for a variety of reasons, his play in 2024 just wasn’t up to his standards.
Prescott saw his yards per attempt drop from 7.7 in 2023, all the way down to 6.9. His 86.0 passer rating was the worst of his career, and the Cowboys went just 3-5 in his eight starts. You can make a case that it was the worst season of Prescott’s career, especially when you factor in his severe hamstring injury that cost him the final nine games of the season.
But despite all of that, Prescott is still viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the league and he should be. He’s been one of the most efficient passers in the league over the last five seasons and the Cowboys have had one of the NFL’s best offenses during that stretch. But where does he rank among his peers, specifically in the NFC East? Higher than you might think.
In a recent article by Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports, he ranked the top 10 quarterbacks going into the 2025 season. Prescott came in at No. 7 on the list, ahead of his fellow NFC East rival QBs (Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Russell Wilson).
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is as good as any QB in the NFC East
Here is a snippet of what McDonald had to say about the franchise quarterback of the Cowboys going into Year 10:
"Prescott (32 years old in July) and Smith (34) are the older guys of their group, and they’re legitimate floor-raisers. Prescott is coming off the shakiest season of his career, which was the case before he went down with a hamstring injury. That said, it was an outlier for a quarterback who normally always gives his offense a chance to be competent no matter the circumstances."Charles McDonald, Yahoo Sports
In a podcast appearance for Yahoo Sports, McDonald explained that Prescott’s ability to make tough throws down the middle of the field is what makes him so great. He’s one of the league’s most accurate quarterbacks, and his decision-making is usually off the charts.
It is somewhat surprising to see Prescott ranked this high, especially after Hurts and Daniels led their teams to the NFC Championship Game last season. But as McDonald mentioned, the Cowboys rarely make life easy on Prescott, and he is forced to play the game at a much more difficult level because of the lack of run game, complex passing offense, etc.
Prescott is one of the more highly respected quarterbacks in the league, and it’s for good reason. But Dallas desperately needs him to stay healthy and perform closer to what we saw from 2021-2023 if they want to make it back to the postseason. Dallas made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL for a reason, and now it’s time for him to get back to playing at that level.
And with an improved offensive line and another dynamic player (George Pickens), there are no more excuses. Look for Prescott to perform like a top-10 quarterback once again this season and remind the doubters why he’s one of the league’s top passers.