'Unbelievable Belief!' Dak Prescott & Mike McCarthy Tied Together - For Cowboys Better or Worse

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has come under serious scrutiny after yet another poor playoff loss, but head coach Mike McCarthy's belief hasn't been shaken.

Here we sit, days removed from the Dallas Cowboys' latest playoff capitulation against the Green Bay Packers with a sense of "what now?" hanging over the organization.

After the 48-32 loss to the Packers, some fans were wanting change, not just in the head coaching department with Mike McCarthy, but also - somehow, some way - a change at quarterback.

Now, CowboysSi.com has already gone through the scenarios at play this offseason with Dak Prescott and his looming contract situation. Hint, there's a high chance that Prescott remains as the Cowboys quarterback moving forward.

Meanwhile, after yet another poor playoff showing that sees Prescott's record drop to 2-5 in the postseason, McCarthy's belief in his quarterback remains unchanged.

“I have unbelievable belief in Dak," McCarthy said. "I think he clearly has (taken) another step, I think this offense has suited him well. The things that we are able to improve on, it's a system built around making a quarterback successful. So the growth opportunity that we both see for the future is something that we are excited about."

In Dak's first season in the "Texas Coast Offense," one could easily make the case that despite the embarrassing playoff exit, he had the best regular season of his career.

Nov 5, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and head coach Mike McCarthy after a touchdown in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field / © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Prescott totaled 36 passing touchdowns (one shy of his career-high), had a career-best completion percentage (69.5), threw for his second-highest passing yards total (4,516), had his highest-ever quarterback rating (105.9), and threw the least amount of interceptions in his last three seasons.

Dak was also the spearhead of the highest-scoring offense in football, so that has to count for something, right?

When we take into account that Prescott didn't "take off" on his MVP surge until after the Week 5 debacle against the San Francisco 49ers as several adjustments were made during the bye week, the idea of what Dak could look like going forward is perhaps why McCarthy has belief in his quarterback.

Dak was an MVP candidate and was named a Second Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in the first year of McCarthy's system. In truth, Dak has never looked as good as he has with McCarthy in his ear. Just what a second season of that will look like is unknown, but the foundation has been laid.

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Now, heading into perhaps the most pressurized season regarding expectations since joining Dallas, McCarthy will have to get Prescott to play better football than he did this season.

McCarthy, in his final contractual year, needs Dak. 

Dak, for the moment with the same contractual status, needs Big Mike.

It seems like a tall order, but if McCarthy believes that Dak is "the guy" going forward, then changes will be made to make sure Prescott and the offense return in 2024 even better.

Why? Because McCarthy's job now depends on it. And in a sense, so might Dak's.