FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott has one major career club record left to get as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
There's no question he considers it the most important, because it has everything to do with the legacy of the Super Bowl winners who came before him.
Victories are what matter with Prescott trying to lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs for the first time since the last of the storied franchise's five championships 31 years ago.
After
throwing four touchdown passes in a 37-20 victory over Washington to break Tony Romo's club record with the 249th of his career, Prescott is 10 regular-season victories behind three-time Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman, who had 94.
It seems all but certain Prescott will break Aikman's record because his contract with a $60 million annual average runs through 2028.
The question is, will the 33-year-old do it this season? And if he does, Dallas (1-1) will be a 12-win team likely headed to the playoffs for the sixth time in Prescott's 11 seasons.
A victory over Baltimore (1-1) in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday would tie Prescott with two-time champ Roger Staubach for second in club history at 85 regular-season wins.
Prescott wore Staubach's iconic No. 12 on his way into the stadium and in his meeting with reporters after the 13th game of his career with at least four TD passes and a 120 passer rating.
“He’s just on my mind and home opener, knew that this was an opportunity to break this record and just felt right,” Prescott said of Staubach, who won his Super Bowls as the club's “America's Team” nickname emerged in the 1970s. “He’s the epitome of what a Dallas Cowboys quarterback should be, and he’s who I’m chasing.”
Prescott probably won't ever catch the club record of 11 playoff wins shared by Staubach and Aikman. He has two, the same number as Romo, whom Prescott was chasing for the most notable passing records — yards and touchdowns.
Prescott was a teenager when Romo took the job, and he took the job from Romo 10 years ago by leading Dallas on an 11-game winning streak after Romo injured his back in the preseason.
Prescott understands the legacy he shares with Romo, and he can change only by stacking wins in the same postseason — something that hasn't happened since the 1995 season with Aikman running the show.
“I was a fan of the Cowboys and so it led into being a fan of the quarterback of the Cowboys, as frustrated at times as he was or as some fans are of me,” Prescott said. “There was a tweet out there that when I got drafted that was brought back up and I was just a dumb fan at that time, too. I didn’t know exactly what he was dealing with.”
Now he does.
Prescott and CeeDee Lamb looked as connected as ever. Lamb was targeted nine times and had eight catches for 153 yards with two touchdowns. Lamb is Prescott's top TD target with 37 in six-plus seasons together. Now it's time for Prescott and George Pickens to get reconnected. Pickens has just 68 yards in two games coming off his breakout 2025 season.
The pass rushers need to start getting quarterbacks on the ground. Dallas was much better generating pressure against Washington than in the season-opening loss to the New York Giants. But they couldn't get Jayden Daniels, who exited with dislocated left elbow on the final play of the first half, or Marcus Mariota on the ground.
Rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham had the biggest defensive play of the game after the Cowboys entrusted him with handling the calls from the sideline in the place of the injured DeMarvion Overshown. Barham forced the only turnover of the game on a fumble that set up a touchdown for a 14-point lead in the third quarter.
Before Daniels' second left elbow dislocation in less than a year, he had several long scrambles while rushing for 69 yards in the first half. The Cowboys had similar problems with Jaxson Dart in the opener, and now they face Lamar Jackson with the Ravens coming off a loss to New Orleans.
Depth on defense is getting a major test early in the season. The Cowboys were without safety Malik Hooker and Overshown against the Commanders, and lost safety P.J. Locke (foot) and cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring) during the game.
20 — Prescott's 20-game home winning streak against NFC East opponents is tied with Tom Brady for the longest by a starting quarterback against his own division since 1970. The next visit comes from two-time defending NFC East champion Philadelphia on Thanksgiving.
After the long and quick trip to Rio, the Cowboys play at Houston the following Sunday, then have a short week before a home game against Tampa Bay on Oct. 8.
___
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
