The 2025 Dallas Cowboys season ended like many that have defined the past decade: high expectations, incomplete results, and more questions than answers, as the team missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
The 34-17 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium – a team that entered the game with a 3-13 record – not only closed the schedule but symbolized a year full of inconsistencies. Dallas finished with a 7-9-1 record, exposing the fragility of its defense, the clear weak point of the multibillion-dollar sports franchise.
It was Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as head coach and also the first time in Dak Prescott’s career that, while playing every game, he finished a season with a losing record. Prescott appeared only in the first half of the finale, completing seven of 11 passes for 70 yards, before giving way to Joe Milton for the remainder of the game. There was no injury involved – just a strategic decision in a contest that had no competitive implications, a moment some interpreted as a reflection of the team’s overall mediocrity in 2025.
Even so, the symbolic weight of the ending was significant. Dallas once again came up short, and the narrative surrounding the franchise quarterback returned to the center of the debate, especially after team owner Jerry Jones recently suggested he has not received the expected return on Prescott’s massive contract.
Dak Prescott’s focus for 2026: work, conviction, and one key word
After the game, when asked about his future and what he envisions heading into his 11th NFL season, Dak Prescott summed it up with one word: “Greatness.”
This was not a throwaway line. The quarterback expanded on his mindset in detail.
“I’m gonna work every day and bust my ass in the gym and the way that I take care of my body, throwing on the field. Doing everything I can,” Prescott said.
He made it clear that he does not expect regression due to age or wear and tear.
“I don’t expect anything different than in years past to be better next year than I was this year. And I think just over my career, the track record somewhat proves that.
Turning 33 this summer, Prescott actually delivered one of his strongest individual seasons in Dallas, throwing for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. Still, the collective context weighs heavier than ever. While the Cowboys’ offense ranked among the league’s better units, Prescott continues to shoulder responsibility as the team’s leader.
“I take accountability, don’t get me wrong, in so many ways,” Prescott said. “As the leader I am, I’m frustrated, always trying to figure out what I could have done better… I do still put some of it on myself.”
Prescott understands that 2026 cannot look like 2025. The expectation is clear: Dallas must return to the playoffs, even if that path begins with helping lead the franchise through another period of transition.
Read the full article here
