It is not uncommon to flip on the TV or scroll through social media and find some halfwit irresponsibly spewing Dak Prescott hate for all to consume. Especially during the offseason, when national media pundits and NFL fans alike are searching for anything to talk about, the usual convergence point is Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.

It’s understandable that when a team is a major worldwide brand, along with the massive fanfare, there will also be quite a few people actively hoping for their downfall. That comes with the territory, and the players and coaches understand it. What should not come with the territory is shamelessly pushing a blatantly inaccurate narrative about a player’s ability to play the game. The Cowboys’ all-time passing leader deserves a certain level of respect regardless of any biases held by fans or media figureheads.

Dak Prescott Hate Is A Tired, Lazy Take

It is one thing when random people sitting on their couch start firing off hilariously erroneous posts on X about Prescott. Their thought processes are flawed, and they have no responsibility to answer to anyone for their claims. There are always going to be irrational fans who think they know more about football than they actually do. They are stuck in their ways and most likely won’t change or be reasoned with.

The real criminals, when it comes to perpetuating the idea that Prescott is not a top quarterback, are those in the media. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the thing about opinions is that they should be rooted in facts. Many media members tend to ignore facts such as Dak being the leader of top offenses under three different head coaches. He’s not a system quarterback who wins because of a great offensive scheme or a dominant defense.

This was abundantly clear last season, with a rookie head coach in Brian Schottenheimer calling plays and a historically horrendous defense to work with. The former Mississippi State Bulldog responded to this adversity by leading the league in completions and throwing for 4,552 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. This would be hailed as a career year and a huge accomplishment for most QBs, but because it’s Prescott, it’s a non-story.

To be fair, the team did go 7-9-1 and miss the playoffs, but the fact that they won as many games as they did with a defense giving up 30 PPG is a borderline miracle. With a lesser quarterback than Dak, that team would have unceremoniously had its doors blown off weekly. He was one of the only reasons the team was watchable and competitive last year, and that deserves to be acknowledged.

With all the coaches and players, past and present, who speak so highly of Prescott as a person and a player, all the hate he receives is really baffling. If people who are actively playing and coaching against him are constantly on the record talking about what a high-level quarterback he is, then why are there people on TV who have never played a down trying to disparage him? One’s opinion of Dak as a quarterback can generally be used as a litmus test for the validity of their NFL knowledge as a whole.

Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Star

It goes without saying that the Cowboys will always be a subject of conversation on sports talk shows and across social media. Networks and media members know that the most valuable sports franchise in the world is a gold mine for views and ratings. Fans of the team always want to hear more about them, and others love to hear about what a trainwreck they are. To quote owner Jerry Jones, “The Cowboys are a soap opera 365 days a year.” While that may be true, it’s probably not the best way to run a football team, and much of that burden falls on the shoulders of America’s Team’s quarterback.

The lone fair critique of Prescott is that he has not had a ton of success in the postseason. With a record of 2-5 in the playoffs, that is obviously not good enough nor acceptable for the team or himself. While football is a team sport and requires more than just the quarterback to play well, he has not played at a high enough level in many of those playoff games. The former fourth-round draft pick is aware of that and has always stepped up to the podium each time to take responsibility and face the media with poise and class.

No player is perfect, especially quarterbacks, who are continuously under the microscope every moment of every game. So much is expected of them, more specifically, the ones who are earning obscene amounts of money each year. That sounds fair, right? To get paid so lavishly, certainly, all quarterbacks are held to the same standard and face the same type of criticism. If only it were that simple.

For some reason, when Dak loses in the playoffs, he’s a bum, and no team could ever win a Super Bowl with him at the helm. Coincidentally, when quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow lose in the playoffs, somehow the blame never falls at their feet. These are all well-established veterans who are consistently lauded as top five quarterbacks in the league, yet they are somehow never at fault for any playoff defeats in the eyes of the media.

Prescott’s defenders have to fight tooth and nail to even get him into top ten quarterback discussions. Why is he held to a higher standard than those who are supposedly better at his position? The answer is because of that star on the side of his helmet. Herbert hasn’t even won a single, solitary playoff game! Yet, because he plays for an irrelevant franchise, and the way the media portrays him, he gets a slap on the wrist whenever he comes up short.

Jackson, Allen, and Burrow have obviously had more success in the playoffs, but the ultimate goal of each NFL season is to win the Super Bowl, not win a couple rounds and go home with a moral victory. A quick Google search can remind everyone that these guys all have the same number of championships as Dak.

Jackson and Allen have never even been to a Super Bowl, and while Burrow has, he lost and has now spearheaded three straight seasons without a playoff berth in Cincinnati. The point isn’t to tear down these guys, as they are all incredibly talented and capable of winning a championship someday. The point is to acknowledge the moving of the goalposts when it comes to how quarterbacks are judged in their careers.

To think of one QB as vastly superior to another simply because his team made it a round or two further, despite also not winning the Super Bowl, is simply idiotic. This is professional sports; there is no participation trophy for almost winning it all. As Brad Pitt so eloquently explained as Billy Beane in Moneyball, “If you lose the last game of the season, nobody gives a sh*t.”

With all of this in mind, the only way for Prescott to truly silence the haters is to do what the Cowboys have not done this century, and win a Super Bowl. They certainly won’t be favorites heading into this season, but with an elite offense already in place and some additions on defense from the upcoming NFL Draft, they can be contenders.

Whether they would admit it or not, it’s fair to imagine that if Dak does one day hoist a Lombardi Trophy, even his critics wouldn’t be able to help but feel a semblance of happiness for him. After everything he’s been through in his life, and the way he still carries himself on and off the field, there’s no more deserving man to be a Super Bowl champion.