As Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott advances into his tenth NFL season, a vocal group of critics continues to question his legitimacy among football’s elite. The ongoing discussion, particularly driven by the analysis from CBS Sports’s Cody Benjamin, focuses on whether Dak Prescott is as effective as his reputation and contract suggest—a central point in the ongoing “Dak Prescott overrated analyst breakdown.”
Prescott’s Career Highlights and Critical Examination
Prescott stands as the longest-serving active starting quarterback in the league, earning notoriety as a three-time Pro Bowler, a past league passing leader, and recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. Despite a strong résumé, Cody Benjamin asserts that the quarterback’s reputation does not align with his impact in crucial games.
“It’s not that Prescott is bad. He really isn’t,”
—Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports NFL Analyst
“You don’t last nearly a decade as the Dallas Cowboys’ starter, with seven playoff appearances, by accident.”
—Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports NFL Analyst
While Benjamin acknowledges Prescott’s skill and durability, he also underlines how the limelight of the Cowboys intensifies scrutiny. The analyst points to a pattern of the franchise failing to capitalize on playoff opportunities in the NFC.
“But that Cowboys brand magnifies everything, and the simple truth is that Prescott is the latest face of an organization that’s routinely failed to make deep-playoff noise out of the NFC,”
—Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports NFL Analyst
Prescott holds a 2-5 postseason record, never steering the Cowboys past the divisional round. His lone playoff appearance as the top-seeded NFC team was in his rookie year—when Dallas posted a 13-3 record, supported by Dez Bryant and Ezekiel Elliott—yet the postseason ended short of expectations. In his latest playoff performance, despite passing for 403 yards and three touchdowns, the Cowboys suffered a 48-32 defeat by the Green Bay Packers. After a season-ending hamstring injury last year, Dallas missed the playoffs with a 7-10 record.
Benjamin also criticizes Prescott’s health and consistency issues in recent years—the quarterback has managed just two playoff victories in his first nine full seasons.
“He’s regularly considered among the NFL’s top 10 or so starters, he’s survived multiple coaching changes and he’s repeatedly landed lucrative extensions in Dallas,”
—Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports NFL Analyst
“He’s also struggled to stay healthy and/or control the ball in three of his last five seasons, and he enters Year 10 with just two postseason victories to his name.”
—Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports NFL Analyst
Big Contracts and Limited Cohesion Compared to Cowboys Legends
Benjamin points out that Prescott’s career lacked the stable coaching environment that Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman once benefited from. Staubach played entirely under Tom Landry, while Aikman thrived with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Prescott, in contrast, approaches his third head coach with Brian Schottenheimer, after working with Mike McCarthy and Jason Garrett previously.
Despite frequent changes in the coaching staff, Prescott’s statistical contributions have remained notable: a 66.8% completion rate, over 31,000 yards, and 82 touchdowns through nine seasons. However, the team’s postseason struggles stand in contrast to the large financial investment—Prescott’s current four-year contract is worth $240 million, and he has earned over $248 million, outpacing both Staubach and Aikman combined (factoring era differences).
Yet, unlike his predecessors, Aikman and Staubach amassed five Super Bowl wins together, solidifying their legacies in Cowboys’ history—something Prescott’s playoff run has yet to deliver.
Positioning Prescott Among NFL Quarterbacks
Benjamin groups Prescott alongside other quarterbacks who have also experienced limited postseason success. Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins and Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals are included in Benjamin’s “overrated” category, with Prescott considered the most likely among the three to return to the playoffs in the upcoming season. Tagovailoa faces a mix of high and low expectations, while Murray aims to keep the Cardinals in contention for a postseason berth.
For contrast, the analyst identifies Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers), Bo Nix (Denver Broncos), and Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) as underrated quarterbacks, all anticipated to guide their respective teams on potential deep playoff journeys.
What This Means for Prescott and the Cowboys
The scrutiny placed upon Prescott, fueled by his high-profile role, contract size, and the Cowboys’ playoff drought, leaves his legacy squarely in question as a new NFL season approaches. As figures like Cody Benjamin continue to dissect his performance and the financial stakes surrounding him, the debate over whether Prescott is overrated will likely continue to shadow both his career and the Cowboys’ pursuit of renewed postseason glory.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Why was Dak Prescott removed?
A. Five days after Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback, had surgery on his hamstring, the team placed him on injured reserve this Monday. Prescott, who is an All-Pro player, had surgery in New York last week to fix a partly torn hamstring he hurt in November.