MVP! MVP! Dak Prescott Keeps Building His Case as the NFL’s Best

Earlier this season, we were among the chorus of doubters when it came to the effectiveness of the so-called “Texas Coast Offense” of Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy. It just wasn’t very pretty to look at back then. We wanted it to be pretty and we wanted QB Dak Prescott to look like a world-beating MVP candidate.

We feel different about things now.

Now, after the ‘Boys took down the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night in Arlington by a score of 41-35, we couldn’t be happier that the local squad found a way to win a game that in many ways was pretty ugly. A ton of penalty flags were thrown at both sides, and the dominant Dallas defense was the one being dominated.

But even more than that, it has become impossible to ignore the kind of stellar season that Prescott has put together. Admittedly, that’s something we weren’t feeling too positive about even a few weeks ago.

Beginning in Week 6 with the team’s win against the Los Angeles Chargers, the team has gone 7-1, beating opponents by an average of 17 points. In that span Prescott has turned on the jets to fuel an MVP campaign that is now impossible for NFL observers nationwide to ignore.

In that same span of time, Prescott has thrown 21 touchdown passes, against only two interceptions. You might recall that in 2022, Prescott was one of the most prolific QBs in the league when it came to interceptions. And lest we forget, before the team took the field on Thursday night, Prescott was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month by the league.

This two-month stretch of games has boosted Prescott’s overall season stats of, course. Prescott’s All-Pro teammate, Micah Parsons, who is having himself another All-Pro-caliber season, gave his QB some social media love a couple of days before last night’s win. He posted to X an extremely favorable comparison of Prescott’s season stats with those of Patrick Mahomes, the reigning NFL MVP and one of the top Las Vegas betting favorites to win the award this season, with a note saying, “But yall on here trying to convince Dak not top 3 in mvp!”

Speaking of the Vegas favorites, many prominent sportsbooks now have Prescott comfortably in the top four, and in some cases, the top two, with betting odds for him to win MVP hovering around +400. Unfortunately for Prescott and Cowboys fans, however, the nearly unanimous player with the best odds to win the trophy at this moment is Jalen Hurts, the QB of the hated Philadelphia Eagles, the only team to beat Dallas in the last two months. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus has the Cowboys quarterback listed as its highest-graded QB for the season thus far, a little ahead of Mahomes, and way in front of Hurts.

Parsons isn’t the only one showing the 30-year-old future father some online respect.

Confirmation from @EpKap that #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP level:

Prescott is the 9th QB with 20 TD passes and 2 INT in single-season, 6-game span.

Six of previous 8 to do it won NFL MVP. pic.twitter.com/ap81ZHidsN

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) December 1, 2023

ESPN reporter Ed Werder wrote on X that the Dallas signal caller is in elite company, historically and statistically, noting that “Prescott is the 9th QB with 20 TD passes and 2 INT in single-season, 6-game span. Six of previous 8 to do it won NFL MVP.”

NFL reporter Ari Meirov stated simply, “You’re in denial if you don’t think he’s an MVP candidate.”

#Cowboys QB Dak Prescott in his last seven games:

• 177/251 (70%)
• 2,173 yards
• 23 total TDs
• 2 INTs
• 6-1 record

You're in denial if you don't think he's an MVP candidate. pic.twitter.com/nIAI4XB26B

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 1, 2023

Just as league titles haven’t been exactly common in North Texas over the past couple of decades, MVP awards have been scarce. The last Cowboys player to win the NFL MVP award was Emmitt Smith in 1993. The last time a player from one of the four major Dallas pro sports teams claimed a league MVP trophy was Dirk Nowitzki after his dominant 2006-07 season.

Following the Thursday win, Prescott addressed the praise he’s been receiving in recent weeks. He also showed a bit of the fire that has seemingly fueled this rocket ride that is the 2023 season so far for him and his team.

“I understand nobody’s opinion defines me, that’s the great part about life and that’s the great opportunity that we all have, that people can say whatever they want,” he told reporters, according to NFL.com. “But you know I have the pen, I have the paper and I’m the one writing. So, because I’m playing as well as I am now doesn’t mean I’m going to stop, doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to them now.”