American football quarterback Dak Prescott and former quarterback Tony Romo have practically become the same for the Dallas Cowboys due to how similar their career paths have gotten.
In the postseason, both players raised unanswered questions due to their less-than-expected success despite their exceptional regular-season performances.
They played together for just one season, in 2016 when Romo’s preseason back injury forced rookie Prescott to step in, and ever since then, it has been held by Prescott.
Romo was an undrafted free agent, and Prescott was a fourth-round choice, and they both have a well-loved underdog story.
They received many Pro Bowl selections and have achieved team records, even making the most of their status as members of “America’s Team” to become well-known figures.
Prescott and Romo are further connected because neither has won a Super Bowl as Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach did.
Romo’s playoff record was 2-4, while after being destroyed 48-32 by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the wild-card round, Prescott’s record is now 2-5.
Romo missed three opportunities to get to an NFC Championship Game (in 2007, 2009, and 2014), and the Packers spoiled Prescott’s opportunity for a fourth attempt in the Wild Card Round of 14 January, having previously failed to convert in 2016, 2018, and 2022.
One former teammate stated that it was not fair to put it all on Dak or Tony as “Everyone needed to get it done.” That being said, the quarterback for the Cowboys had to bear the majority of the blame.
Cowboys and The Super Bowl
Ken Anderson is the only quarterback since 1980 to start for his team more seasons in a row than Prescott will have in 2024 (nine) prior to making his Super Bowl debut. In 1981, he was a starter for the Cincinnati Bengals for his tenth season.
In their respective ninth seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons, both Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan made their Super Bowl debuts.
Before making it to his first Super Bowl in 2006, Manning had already won two NFL MVP awards and faced the New England Patriots’ dynasty and quarterback Tom Brady.
About Aikman’s first Super Bowl arriving in his fourth season, executive vice president of the Dallas Cowboys, Stephen Jones stated that for some guys like Troy, who managed to secure three Super Bowls and was also named MVP of Super Bowl XXVII, going to the Super Bowl is a natural process and therefore they can easily win championships.
On the other hand, Jones explains that there are other guys for whom improving and learning the game takes time. Dak and Tony, in his opinion, both belong in that group and were before the injuries.
Age and Injuries
Prescott’s chances of at least another run towards the Super Bowl are improved by age, because in 2014, Romo’s final season, he was 34 years old and his body was failing him primarily due to back problems that necessitated numerous operations.
Although Romo also contributed that day, but the overturned catch by Dez Bryant late in the fourth quarter is the one that sticks in your memory from that 26-21 divisional round loss to the Packers.
He gave his family a deep embrace an hour or so after that heartbreaking loss in the sweltering heat outside Lambeau Field, as if he knew he wouldn’t get another chance.
Prescott, who turns 31 in July, led the NFL in touchdown passes (36) and participated in every game this season for the first time since 2019.
He has experienced severe injuries, like a dislocated and fractured right ankle in 2020 and a broken right thumb that kept him out of action for five games in 2022, but like Romo, he thinks his off-field routines have strengthened and resilient him.
Prescott also noted that when you are looking at greats and what they’re doing, and you see guys like LeBron James and Tom Brady, who have methods and spend millions of dollars on their body each year.
He realizes that it’s obvious, “when they’re playing as long as they played at such a high level that that’s what they need to do to feel comfortable.”
The Cowboys’ main concern with Prescott this offseason is not his health but rather his contract, because he is approaching the last year of his contract and $59.4 million will be deducted from his 2024 salary cap.
Their choices in the offseason include extending Prescott’s contract, playing out the rest of his tenure or just adding more voidable years to make his 2024 salary cap easier to handle.
