Cowboys’ Dak Prescott approaches 100th career start Sunday: ‘It’s a blessing, still after ultimate goal’

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys Sunday afternoon Week 3 matchup towards the Arizona Cardinals, at the floor, seems to be simply any other common season sport within the lengthy march via their 17-game slate. However, it carries additional that means for his or her quarterback Dak Prescott, who at 30 years outdated and 8 season within the NFL, will make his 100th career start this weekend. 

“It’s a blessing,” Prescott mentioned Thursday. “It really is. I grew up wanting to play this game, to play this game at the highest level  and that’s simply what this league is. To think back that this would be to say I’ve had 99 at-bats at it and this would be 100 is pretty cool. Being the physical game it is knowing how hard it is to play in this league, stay in this league. Yeah, it’s something special. Not that I take any moment for granted, but, yeah, I saw that stat I guess earlier this week. It was sent to me and that was a pretty cool one.”

Through his first 99 begins, Prescott was the one participant in NFL historical past with a minimum of 150 landing passes (168) and a minimum of 25 dashing touchdowns inside a quarterback’s first 100 begins. He has additionally soaring close to the highest of the Cowboys’ franchise report books. His 168 career passing touchdowns rank because the second-most in group historical past at the back of best Tony Romo’s 248 and 3 forward of Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman’s 165. Prescott’s 25,341 passing yards path each Romo (34,183) and Aikman’s (32,942). Currently, Prescott (97.8) is the best-ever Cowboys’ passer score chief, forward of Romo through 0.7 issues (97.1). Even although the 2016 season, when he used to be first inserted into Dallas’ beginning lineup after accidents to Romo and Kellen Moore, appears like a lifetime in the past, Prescott vividly recalls his first career start, a 20-19 house defeat towards Eli Manning and the New York Giants. He completed the sport with 227 passing yards on 25 of 45 passing. Running again Ezekiel Elliott’s 8-yard dashing landing accounted for the one Dallas landing of the afternoon.

“From my first start, it was a loss unfortunately, but, I think I started out pretty fast out of the gate,” Prescott mentioned. “Being able to get the ball to some guys, I remember [receiver Cole] Beas[ley]having a day that day [eight catches for 65 yards], but it was fun. It was fun at AT&T stadium. To be on 100 to be on the road, hopefully 100 more to go, I guess.”

His frame will play a vital function in how a lot farther Prescott travels down the trail to 200 NFL begins. He ignored 5 video games closing season with a thumb damage and the general 11 video games of the 2020 season with a fractured and dislocated ankle.

“On certain days, hell yeah, certain days it feels like a lot more than 100 [starts],” Prescott mentioned when addressing the state of his frame. “Mentally and then some days physically, not at all. I do feel young. I’ve knocked on wood and said ‘I’m feeling healthy.’ Being healthy, thankful for that, put a lot of work into that just to be where I am. Let’s hope it can be another 100.”

One of the defining qualities of his time because the Cowboys face-of-the-franchise quarterback has been how he carries himself off and on the sector. Owner and common supervisor Jerry Jones, head trainer Mike McCarthy and plenty of teammates through the years, previous and provide automatically checklist Prescott’s management as his best possible high quality. 

“Coming into this league, my impact was just to make a name for myself and be able to play,” Prescott mentioned. “I think the impact comes from me just being genuine to that. Being genuine to the friendships, the relationships that I’ve created and I don’t want to say not trying, but just being transparent, being who I am. Yeah, just being completely genuine and showing vulnerability, showing leadership, showing all the things that I think teammates, people that go through everything on and off the field need to see. Just blessed and thankful to have to be in the position on there and be the leader of this team and have 100 starts out.”

Not best is Prescott situated to be the chief of the Cowboys, however he’s additionally within the place of being the NFL’s longest-tenured quarterback with the similar group. That name used to be handed to Prescott after Aaron Rodgers used to be traded to the New York Jets after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, and after Derek Carr used to be launched following 9 seasons with the Raiders and signed with the New Orleans Saints this previous offseason. For maximum of Prescott’s career, Tom Brady held this name all over his 20-season run with the New England Patriots. 

“It was just maybe a couple of weeks ago when me and my buddies were talking about all the guys I grew up watching and just thinking about how all of them are pretty much out of the league at this point,” Prescott mentioned. “It was a privilege to be able to play a lot of those guys. That’s something that you’ll never forget, being able to play pretty much all of them. I guess the year I came in Peyton [Manning] left. Other than that, having a shot at all those guys was fun. That’s this game. This game is youthful, there’s always turnover, it’s hard to stay in this league.”

Manning will all the time be on the best of Prescott’s thoughts on the subject of his soccer function fashions. Like Manning, Prescott used to be additionally born and raised in Louisiana, so he used to be an avid fan of the five-time NFL MVP’s Hall of Fame career. 

“Probably Peyton [Manning],” Prescott mentioned when requested who his quarterback used to be rising up. “For awhile, I didn’t like Tom [Brady] being a Peyton guy, but it wasn’t until college that I realized what he [Brady] was really doing and how hard that was with the success he had throughout his career. Being a hater is really idolizing a guy I guess you could say. Peyton being a Louisiana guy, always was ahead of the game. You see our no-huddle mechanics and things like that. He was just always someone I watched in the game. Being able to move around and be a little bit more mobile than Peyton was [makes me] like any of those others guys who can run with the ball. It was a mix.”

While he has completed a truthful quantity of good fortune in his eight-season NFL career, Prescott still thirsts to guide the Cowboys previous the NFC divisional spherical of the playoffs with a view to style the Super Bowl glory that Manning, Brady, Rodgers and others have skilled of their prolonged NFL trips. 

“I haven’t achieved what I want, the ultimate goal as simple as that, and that’s a Super Bowl,” Prescott mentioned. “Any personal goals or not anything I’ve really set out, I wrote down for me to go and get those things. I think those things come when you take care of what you’re supposed to take care of, be the player that you need to be. [I’m] Not quite where I want to be at all and hopefully it doesn’t take 100 more starts. Got some at-bats this year, we’re going at it full steam.”

After consecutive 12-win seasons in 2021 and 2022 — the primary time Dallas has executed that since they received 3 Super Bowls in 4 seasons from 1992-1995 — the 2023 Cowboys, early on, glance provided to make any other robust push within the postseason. This time round, on account of the continuity from the previous couple of seasons, Prescott feels this group could also be his best possible shot but. 

“I do think it’s [the team] better equipped starting with the leadership in the locker room, the coaches and a bunch of us guys being here and have been here the last couple of years,” Prescot mentioned. “Honestly, I think when you can put two 12-win seasons together, you’re going to get a lot of success, but you realize when you don’t win in the playoffs that it really doesn’t mean anything. So I think just having that experience is where people are really going to play off and not get too high or low off of one game or winning the games that we’re supposed to win or just even in this regular season. More importantly, guys are trying to stack and build on who we are and what we want to accomplish and ultimately, where we plan to go.”