# Dak Prescott Playoff Record: Unpacking the Cowboys QB's Postseason Struggles & Stats For the Dallas Cowboys and their fanbase, the regular season often feels like a prelude to an inevitable, yet recurring, heartbreak. At the center of this narrative is quarterback Dak Prescott, a player whose regular-season excellence is consistently overshadowed by a postseason resume that falls short of expectations. The **Dak Prescott playoff record** has become a defining, and often debated, aspect of his career, painting a complex picture of a talented leader struggling to clear the final, most crucial hurdles in the NFL.

The stark numbers fuel a relentless cycle of media scrutiny and fan frustration, placing Prescott's legacy in a precarious position as he navigates the immense pressure of leading "America's Team." ### A Statistical Divide: Regular Season Star vs. Postseason Performer To understand the controversy surrounding Prescott's postseason performance, one must first acknowledge his impressive regular-season accomplishments. Since entering the league in 2016, he has consistently ranked among the NFL's top quarterbacks, earning Pro Bowl selections and, in 2023, finishing as the runner-up for the MVP award. However, the transition from the 17-game schedule to the single-elimination format of the playoffs has revealed a significant and troubling disparity. As of the end of the 2023 NFL season, Dak Prescott's playoff record stands at a challenging **2 wins and 5 losses**. This .286 winning percentage is a stark contrast to his career regular-season winning percentage, which hovers above .600. While a quarterback's record is a team statistic, the scrutiny inevitably falls on the signal-caller. A closer look at his postseason statistics reveals a mixed bag of performances: * **Completion Percentage:** Prescott has generally maintained a respectable completion rate in the playoffs, often completing over 60% of his passes. * **Touchdowns to Interceptions:** Across his seven playoff games, he has thrown for 14 touchdowns against 7 interceptions. While not disastrous, several of these interceptions have occurred at critical, game-altering moments. * **Passer Rating:** His cumulative postseason passer rating is solid, but it's the inconsistency from game to game that has defined his playoff career. He has posted games with ratings over 100, but also games where turnovers and missed opportunities have been the primary story. The core issue is not that Prescott is a poor quarterback in January, but that the high-stakes environment has often amplified mistakes and failed to bring out the same level of elite, game-winning play that defines his best regular-season moments. ### A Chronology of Postseason Disappointment The story of the Dak Prescott playoff record is best told through the individual games that comprise it. Each loss has carried its own unique sting, adding another layer to the narrative of a team and its quarterback unable to break through the ceiling. **1. 2016 Season: Divisional Round vs. Green Bay Packers (L, 34-31)** In his sensational rookie season, Prescott led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and the NFC's top seed. In a thrilling back-and-forth contest against Aaron Rodgers, Prescott was impressive, throwing for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns. However, a last-second field goal by the Packers ended the Cowboys' dream season, a brutal lesson in how quickly playoff hopes can be extinguished. **2. 2018 Season: Wild Card Win & Divisional Round Loss** Prescott secured his first playoff victory in a hard-fought 24-22 win over the Seattle Seahawks, a game where he made crucial plays with both his arm and his legs. The celebration was short-lived. The following week, the Cowboys' offense was stifled by the Los Angeles Rams, who dominated the line of scrimmage in a 30-22 loss that was not as close as the final score indicated. **3. 2021 Season: Wild Card vs. San Francisco 49ers (L, 23-17)** Perhaps the most infamous loss of his career, this game ended in bizarre fashion. Trailing by six with 14 seconds left, Prescott ran a quarterback draw up the middle but failed to hand the ball to the official in time to spike it for one final play. The clock expired, and the Cowboys were eliminated at home in a game defined by penalties and offensive inefficiency. **4. 2022 Season: A Glimmer of Hope, Then Familiar Frustration** The 2022 postseason was a microcosm of the Prescott experience. He delivered arguably the best performance of his career in the Wild Card round, dismantling Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 31-14 road victory. The narrative shifted instantly: Had Prescott finally turned a corner? The answer came a week later. Against the 49ers, he threw two costly interceptions in a 19-12 defensive struggle, once again falling to Dallas's modern-day playoff nemesis. **5. 2023 Season: The Ultimate Letdown vs. Green Bay Packers (L, 48-32)** Following an MVP-caliber season, expectations were sky-high as the No. 2 seed Cowboys hosted the young Green Bay Packers. The result was an unmitigated disaster. The team fell behind 27-0, and while Prescott padded his stats in garbage time, his two first-half interceptions—including a pick-six—helped create the insurmountable deficit. The 48-32 loss at home was the most lopsided of his playoff career and triggered intense questions about the team's leadership and future. ### Context, Pressure, and the Weight of the Star It is overly simplistic to place the entirety of the blame on Prescott. Football is the ultimate team sport, and the Cowboys' postseason failures have been a collective effort. Defensive collapses, questionable coaching decisions under both Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy, and inconsistent offensive line play have all been contributing factors. However, the quarterback position carries a disproportionate amount of credit for wins and blame for losses. This is magnified tenfold in Dallas, where the silver and blue helmet represents a global brand with a storied history. The shadow of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks like Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman looms large over any quarterback who takes the helm. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has remained publicly supportive of Prescott but has not shied away from expressing his deep disappointment. After the most recent loss to Green Bay, Jones called it "one of my most surprising moments" in his decades of ownership. This immense external pressure, combined with Prescott's own desire to win, creates a crucible that few athletes ever experience. Prescott himself has acknowledged the weight of the results. Following the 2022 loss to San Francisco, he stated, "It's just disappointing. Guys that have fought their ass off, that have put everything into this, coaches, players alike. And for us to come out and for me to play the way that I did, yeah, it's disappointing." ### The Road Ahead: Rewriting a Legacy As Dak Prescott enters the final year of his massive contract, his career is at a crossroads. The **Dak Prescott playoff record** is no longer a footnote; it is the headline. For him to change the narrative and solidify his legacy as more than just a great regular-season quarterback, a deep playoff run is not just a goal—it is a necessity. The debate will rage on until he hoists a conference championship trophy or, dare to dream, the Lombardi. Until then, his career will be defined by the haunting question of why a quarterback so good from September to December has struggled to be great when it matters most.