Dak Prescott finally got his contract, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal with $231 million guaranteed, only hours before the season opener. He will make more than $400 million in his career by the time the deal ends in 2028.
The question is whether he will have at least one Super Bowl title in that time.
For as much success as he has had in his Cowboys’ career, Prescott is only 2-5 in the postseason and has never gotten the Cowboys beyond the divisional round.
“It’s my only motivation,” Prescott said of the Super Bowl, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “Hold up my part of this deal. Just deliver that. That’s my motivation. Right now, it’s about celebrating this win tonight. Hell of a win with these guys, excited for this plane ride back with them, but then turning the page tomorrow, getting on to the Saints and taking it one game at a time. That is what is at the forefront of my mind. Not the money. It’s about holding up my end of the deal. And I want to do it here.”
Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys and Texas Stadium for $140 million in 1989. His team won three championships in his first seven seasons as owner but haven’t been back even to the NFC Championship Game since.
Now that he’s the highest-paid player in NFL history, with a $60 million a year average, Prescott seemingly faces even more pressure.
“I put the most pressure on myself,” Prescott said. “Simple as that. I’m not happy with my . . . performance today, and that’s what motivates me. That’s what pushes me. You try to be -- and I say try -- you try to be bummed about it in the locker room, but you know it’s a win on the road, which is good for the team and then you got teammates telling you it was a hell of a day for you.
“I put the most pressure on myself. Nobody’s a bigger critic than I am personally, and I expect greatness out of myself with my standards, my expectations and the same for this team. So there’s no added pressure.”
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson is going to undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his left knee injury, but X-rays were negative.
Todd Archer of ESPN reports Ferguson’s ACL is intact.
“I think we dodged a big one,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “Talking to him, he gave me a lot of confidence that he’ll be OK.”
Ferguson caught three passes for 15 yards in Sunday’s win over the Browns.
His absence, however long, would give 2023 second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker a bigger role. Brevyn Spann-Ford and John Stephens are the other tight ends on the active roster.
Tight end Jake Ferguson’s left knee injury was one of the few negative developments for the Cowboys on Sunday.
Ferguson left their 33-17 road win over the Browns with a knee injury and he’ll be having tests on it when the team returns to Dallas. Ferguson said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, that he is going to have an MRI on the knee.
Watkins reports Ferguson had the knee wrapped in ice as he left the locker room.
Ferguson had three catches for 15 yards before he left the game. Luke Schoonmaker, Brevyn Spann-Ford, and John Stephens are the other tight ends on the 53-man roster.
The Cowboys dominated the Browns in every phase, with two offensive touchdowns, a special teams touchdown, four field goals and a defense that produced six sacks and two takeaways. It was an ugly home opener for the Browns.
The Cowboys won 33-17, making a statement after an offseason of questions and angst.
The Browns offense, which was missing both starting offensive tackles, was no match for Mike Zimmer’s defense. Cleveland had only one first down, 22 plays and 54 yards in the first half and finished with 70 plays for 230 yards and 15 first downs with an average gain of 3.3 yards.
Eric Kendricks, the Cowboys’ big offseason free agent acquisition, made a team-leading nine tackles with two sacks and an interception. DeMarcus Lawrence also had two sacks, and Micah Parsons had a sack, a tipped pass that led to Kendricks’ pick and five quarterback hits.
Trevon Diggs made an interception in his first game back after tearing an ACL early last season, and DeMarvion Overshown had a sack in his first regular-season game after missing all of his rookie season with a torn ACL.
Deshaun Watson was 24-of-45 for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and former Cowboy Amari Cooper had only two catches for 16 yards. David Njoku, who caught four passes for 44 yards, left with an ankle injury in the second half.
Dak Prescott completed 19 of 32 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown after agreeing to terms on a record-setting extension earlier in the day. CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 61 yards after missing all of the offseason and training camp while seeking an extension he signed two weeks ago.
KaVontae Turpin returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown early in the second half, his first career return for a touchdown, and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 57, 40, 50 and 46 yards. He made a record-tying 66-yard field goal at the end of the first half that was negated by a delay of game, and the Cowboys didn’t let him attempt a 71-yarder.
But it was all Cowboys all day, reminding everyone they still have the talent to contend.
Browns tight end David Njoku was injured in the third quarter.
With five minutes gone in the second half, Njoku caught a 29-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to the Dallas 27. He took a hard tackle from both Eric Kendricks and Malik Hooker.
Njoku needed assistance to get from the sideline medical tent to the X-ray room.
He is questionable to return with an ankle injury, but his limp indicates he won’t return today.
Njoku leads the team with four catches for 44 yards.
The Browns ruled out linebacker Mohamoud Diabate with a hip injury.
The Browns scored their first touchdown on a 6-yard reception by Jerry Jeudy to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 27-10.
The Cowboys are making a statement. The Browns are making boo birds out of their fans.
Dallas is running it up on Cleveland, with KaVontae Turpin returning a punt 60 yards for a touchdown after another three-and-out by the Browns. Punter Corey Bojorquez looked like he had an angle on Turpin but didn’t come close as the last line of defense.
The Cowboys lead 27-3 with 12:59 remaining in the third quarter.
It was Turpin’s first return for a touchdown in the regular season in his career. He’s scored one rushing touchdown and three receiving touchdowns on offense.
It also was the longest return of his career, and the Cowboys’ first return for a touchdown since 2017 when Ryan Switzer had an 83-yarder against Washington.
The Browns have had six three-and-outs today, with another drive ending on the second play with an interception.
The Cowboys dominated the Browns in the first half, taking a 20-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Dallas outgained Cleveland 216 yards to 54, with the Browns picking up only one first down on 22 plays and going 0-for-6 on third down. Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons wreaked havoc, with two tackles, a sack, three quarterback hits and a tipped pass that Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks intercepted.
The Browns don’t have their starting tackles, Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, and Dawand Jones and James Hudson III have not held up against Mike Zimmer’s defense.
Deshaun Watson went only 7-of-15 for 36 yards and the interception, and the Browns were booed off the field at halftime.
The only thing that went wrong for the Cowboys was a 66-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey, which would have tied Justin Tucker’s NFL record, was negated by a delay of game penalty. The Cowboys had a timeout they didn’t use, and they did not let him attempt a 71-yarder.
Dak Prescott, who agreed to a four-year, $240 million deal with $231 million guaranteed before the game, was 14-of-21 for 156 yards and a touchdown. CeeDee Lamb, who missed training camp before signing his extension two weeks ago, has four catches for 58 yards and Brandon Cooks scored on a 21-yard reception. Ezekiel Elliott has eight carries for 35 yards and a 3-yard touchdown.
The Browns have three sacks, including one by defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, against a Cowboys offensive line that started two rookies.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed the four-year, $240 million contract he gave Dak Prescott. Jones and Prescott had a handshake on the deal during the walkthrough practice Saturday, and the sides dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on Sunday, hours before kickoff of the season opener.
The Cowboys guaranteed Prescott $231 million.
“What the guaranteed money means is a big commitment for the next five years to our future, if you will,” Jones said Sunday, via Patrik Walker of the team website. “There’s a lot of me that thinks that Dak is our quarterback for the rest of my time. That’s not just limited to the terms of this contract, either. I have a lot of confidence in him. He brings so much to the table.”
Prescott has signed three contracts with the Cowboys, and if he signs a fourth, the Cowboys would be wise to do it sooner than later. The second contract took two years of negotiations, with Prescott betting on himself and gaining all the leverage with no-trade and no-tag clauses in the four-year, $160 million deal.
He was headed toward free agency in March without an extension.
“I’m happy that it’s done,” Jones said. “This was a time when it was right there for us to do. We were all set to go and it was critical. I’ve seen so many things that were worthy of doing that were not done because you missed the timing to make it happen. Opening Day, up here against Cleveland, this was a great time to make it happen.
“I think we all felt a little energy to come on in and get to a point where we could say yes. I’ve known all along what a great player Dak is, and I’m satisfied everybody understands I understand [that].”
The Cowboys also signed receiver CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136 million deal two weeks ago. They now have to worry about getting edge rusher Micah Parsons signed. Parsons became eligible for an extension after last season.
Prescott, though, was the big one.
The amount of the pay day to Prescott was a huge commitment, but Jones surely remembered the nine quarterbacks the Cowboys started between Troy Aikman and Tony Romo.
“We’re going to be able to handle this,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “We’re going to be able to get players around him that give us a chance to compete for a Super Bowl. [Prescott] was our best chance of getting one. . . . This was the thing to do for what we’re here for and that’s to win a championship.”
Jones took criticism for waiting so long to sign both Lamb and Prescott, preventing the Cowboys from doing much in free agency. But the Cowboys have never failed to sign a player they really wanted to keep, whatever the cost.
“This was the thing to do for what we’re here for, and that is to win a championship,” Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “I know our fans know that. I’m surprised that anyone would think that anything short of — they might disagree with the decision — but anything short of a commitment is just not the case with me. I gave everything I ever had or hoped to have to get a chance to be a part of the Cowboys. And it’s beyond my fondest dreams where we stand today.”
Now Prescott, who has a 2-5 postseason record, will try to do what hasn’t been done since Aikman’s time. The Cowboys haven’t played in an NFC Championship Game, much less a Super Bowl, since 1995.
The Browns already knew they wouldn’t have left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who continues to work his way back from a knee injury. They also won’t have right tackle Jack Conklin.
The veteran, who might have started at left tackle, is inactive.
The Browns announced that Dawand Jones will start at right tackle and James Hudson III will start at left tackle. Neither is a great option with DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons as the Cowboys’ top edge rushers.
The Browns’ other inactives are quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, cornerback Kahlef Hailassie, cornerback Myles Harden, defensive end Isaiah McGuire and offensive guard Javion Cohen. Thompson-Robinson will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Cowboys’ inactives are quarterback Trey Lance, cornerback Andrew Booth, linebacker Buddy Johnson, wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, tight end John Stephens Jr. and offensive tackle Matt Waletzko.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys spent all offseason talking about a contract extension and they finally got a deal done about 90 minutes before the start of the regular season.
According to multiple reports, Prescott has agreed to a four-year deal with the Cowboys. The deal is worth $240 million and includes $231 million in guaranteed money.
The deal makes Prescott the highest-paid player in the history of the NFL and it answers the questions about his future in Dallas that have swirled around him and the team for the last couple of years.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also signed a new deal recently, which leaves Micah Parsons as the next man up for a new deal with the Cowboys.