Dak had to do a lot of the heavy lifting in 2025, but now, after an offseason of change, maybe No. 4 won't have to be Superman every week.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was superb in 2025, but that was largely because he had to be if the team was going to win games.
With Dak and the offense putting up nearly 30 points every week, they were in a great spot to win a lot of games, but the defense allowed over 30 points per game.
How many times did we look at a game last season and say if the defense could just get a stop here or a sack there, and the offense would be able to put the final nail in the coffin?
I lost count, to be honest. The Green Bay Packers 40-40 tie was a classic example. Just one stop was all that was needed. Yet the defense couldn't get it.
Now, with the changes made defensively, coaching-wise, and personnel-wise, the Cowboys look to have a much-improved defense under Christian Parker.
Of course, this is all a prediction, and in truth, Dallas couldn't have a worse defense in 2026, could it? Fans sure hope not.
And in truth, Prescott will likely hope not as well.
For ESPN's Todd Archer, Dak could be set to have a much easier time of it thanks to the proposed improvement in the defense under Parker.
"What might help Prescott even more are the defensive changes the Cowboys have made with new coordinator Christian Parker, who spent the past two seasons as the Eagles' passing game coordinator and secondary coach," Archer wrote.
"Any improvement over last season's defense, which allowed an NFL-high 511 points, will take some pressure off Prescott and the offense to put up 30-plus points a game."
Dak's numbers last year were good, throwing for 4,552 yards and 30 TDs, and you can make the case that a big reason for those numbers was the fact that Dallas had to throw it all over the yard just to put up enough points to win.
There was no confidence that if the offense struggled, the defense could get a stop or even a takeaway to get the ball back to the offense.
Now, under Parker, there could be confidence that Prescott won't have to be Superman each week just for the Cowboys to be competitive.
Yes, there will be times when Dak is required to do it all himself, as all quarterbacks have a game or two like that across a season, but for the most part, Parker's defense hopefully should be able to do some of the heavy lifting.
And that means Dak won't have to be "the" guy each week. Because of that, he looms as a big winner of Dallas' offseason work.
