The Dallas Cowboys are out of the playoff picture, but Dak Prescott is invested in finishing what he started and doing whatever he can to help the team bounce back in 2026.
Prescott told reporters on Tuesday that he will not miss the final two games of the regular season.
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“What would the Cowboys’ first-year head coach tell Brian Schottenheimer if he mentioned the idea of sitting out the rest of the season,” the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback said after being asked a hypothetical question, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
This week on Christmas Day, the 6-8-1 Cowboys take on the 4-11 Commanders.
“If I couldn’t play this game, do some of the things I love at a high level and have a good individual season, I guess you could say, strong, I wouldn’t try to leave my family,” Prescott said, via Machota.
He continued: “You say I’ve played 15 games and I want to take it to 17 and just show that every chance I get to play, I just want to live up to my standards and expectations. Not only that, we’re just talking about how important it is to stop this losing streak and finish the season with two wins. So, yeah, I’m going to play and I’m going to fight. [Schottenheimer] for it. “
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Luckily for Prescott, he doesn’t have to do that this week – Schottenheimer talked about the motivation behind finishing 5-1 in the NFC East and how his players are fighting for the win.
The Cowboys’ three-game losing streak follows a three-game winning streak – including back-to-back wins over last year’s Super Bowl teams the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs – putting them back in the spotlight.
As Prescott mentioned, he’s had tremendous personal success during the 2025 campaign. In his 10th season, the 32-year-old has surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark. He has thrown for 28 touchdowns while developing a rapport with wide receiver George Pickens, who currently ranks third in the league with 1,342 receiving yards.
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But this is nothing new for Prescott. In 2023, he led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns. He was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016.
Like everyone else in Dallas, he always aspired to a championship.
Prescott added: “I feel like the last few times I’ve been talking about it have been playoff losses. Every year has its own troubles. Every year has its own highs, lows, ebbs and flows and everything in between. It’s about controlling what you can do… I’m going to try my best and control what I can do as you get older. Getting older, I think having more input, having more voice and being asked more questions by management, maybe there’s more I can do, and it’s not about me getting better at the game, maybe saying that out loud will help, or I think that will help.”
Although the Cowboys rank third in the league with 6.0 yards per game and fifth with 28.3 points per game, they rank second to last in the league with 30.3 points allowed per game and 30th in the league with 6.1 yards per game.
Longtime Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will be starting over this offseason as the Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought reaches 30 years this season.
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“One year you can change a drought and then you’re the latest guy to make the playoffs or make it to the Super Bowl,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The FAN in Dallas, Machota reported.
“So, I’m not looking at these 30 years, those 20 years, when I know a good year is going to change that, you’re at the top of the list. When you start thinking about time, it’s easy for me to step up and say, ‘I can change this next year.'” In my mind, that’s what you want to do and that’s what our fans expect of me. “
Prescott hopes to make that change as well.
“Whatever it takes,” he said via ESPN, “I’m going to do my best again to make sure that I can influence and encourage everyone around me, not just the players, to do the same.”