Stephen A. Smith Rips Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Era: ‘It’s a Failure’

Dallas’s playoff woes in the last three decades have been well-documented.

In seven years with quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have been solid more often that not. Dallas is the owner of a 13–3 season (2016), two 12–5 seasons (2021–22) and a 10–6 season (’18), all years in which the team collected postseason berths.

However, the Cowboys have comparatively little playoff success to show for their regular season accomplishments. Dallas has made three trips to the divisional round with Prescott and lost them all, to go with a wild card loss to the 49ers in ’21.

To ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a frequent Cowboys critic, the franchise’s failure to win with Prescott is a damning indictment of the current era of Dallas football.

More: Conor Orr Predicts All 272 Games of the 2023 NFL Season

“It’s a failure. It’s a failure. Let’s call it what it is,” Smith said on First Take Friday morning. “This is America’s Team. This is a team that’s worth 10 billion dollars... and what do you have to show for it?”

Smith then pointed out the Cowboys’ broad inability to make much noise since their most recent golden age in the mid-1990s.

“Not only have they not made a Super Bowl appearance, they haven’t made an NFC championship game appearance (since 1995),” Smith said. “Damn right that’s a failure. Now that doesn’t mean they haven’t had great moments. It doesn’t mean that they haven’t had respectable seasons. But on several occasions we’ve looked at the Dallas Cowboys with their roster, we labeled them a Super Bowl contender.”

Dallas will take another crack at a Prescott-led breakthrough, with its 2023 opener looming on Sept. 10 versus the Giants.