ESPN’s senior NFL analyst, Kevin Clark, made some quite unsurprising comments about the Dallas Cowboys’ star quarterback on Thursday, July 16. But his defensive take on Dak Prescott invited strong opinions from the NFL world. One of them was former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
Clark’s take was that Prescott’s not-so-great reputation in the NFL is the byproduct of Jerry Jones.
“I think he’s the most underappreciated”, Clark said. “Because he’s become a punchline because of the sins of Jerry Jones’s roster building and Cowboys fans who always overhype their team. This year, when you look at the offense, I just think that there’s gonna be a floor that’s really high and a defense that, if it can get to average, it’s NFC contention.”
But Acho showed strong disagreement with the point of view that someone else is responsible for Prescott’s reputation in the NFL.
Emmanuel Acho explains why Cowboys’ Dak Prescott became a “punchline“
“This is the biggest lie I’ve seen on social media this offseason,” Acho indirectly responded to an ESPN analyst’s ‘most underappreciated’ remark on the Cowboys QB. “Prescott has not become a punchline because of Jerry Jones’s roster building. Jones built a roster where the Dallas Cowboys had like nine All-Pros in a single season, including special teams players who are All-Pros.”
Acho said those postseason performances, not Mr. Jones, were the reason Prescott became an NFL “punchline.” Acho added, “Prescott did not become a punchline because of Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones has given Prescott a first-round pick after all-pro, after all-pro on the offensive side of the ball. CeeDee Lamb, Ezekiel Elliott, the year Prescott got drafted.”
Lastly, the podcaster and former LB said, “Like what else can you do for Prescott? Prescott became a punchline because he didn’t know how to punch the football over the line. That’s why Dak Prescott became a punchline.”
The Cowboys’ No. 14 was recently ranked 6th in the league by ESPN, a day before George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb were named in the top 10 wide receivers list. Prescott was also voted one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFC and ranks third in passing yards for the 2025 NFL season. Statistically, the 32-year-old QB is great. He has passed for 35,989 yards, scored 243 touchdowns, and maintained a 66.9% completion percentage on average.
But as Acho weighed in, we can’t surely say he didn’t have useful weapons on offense. Or we can’t say because of the lack of talent, the Cowboys haven’t won any Super Bowls.
Well, I don’t want to enter into this narrative and all-time story of how the Cowboys are not entering the playoffs. But apart from the 2024 season, when he injured his hamstring, Prescott could have done something that might have led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl at least once. If not, he could have at least won the conference round. But that also didn’t happen.
Plus, Jerry Jones did his part in 2024 when the front office agreed to pay Prescott $240 million ($231,000,000 guaranteed) for a four-year contract, which will end after the 2028 NFL season. No one can blame the general manager/owner for 100% of the matches the Cowboys have lost so far under the Dak Prescott-led roster.
