The Dallas Cowboys are trying to leave their disappointing 2025 season behind, and Dak Prescott believes the foundation for a different team is being built in the trenches. Dallas has revamped its defense and coaching staff while preparing for another run at the Super Bowl.

Prescott spoke with reporters after receiving the Pro Football Writers of America's 2026 Good Guy Award. The Cowboys quarterback said the team's physical approach during training camp has helped establish the identity Dallas wants heading into Week 1.

"If we’re going to be a physical team and a good team, it starts at the line of scrimmage.” Prescott continued. “And so it’s just credit to all the big guys in the locker room who have taken that note, and honestly, just iron sharpen irons."

Speaking to the reporters on September 4, via Cowboys YouTube, Prescott pointed to the daily matchup between Quinnen Williams and Tyler Smith as one example of the standard Dallas wants along the offensive line.

He also said that physicality has started showing up when watching the younger players block and the Cowboys' ball carriers run.

The quarterback will have an important voice in that process. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced on Thursday that Prescott, Williams, Kenny Clark, and Brandon Aubrey will serve as the team's four captains after being selected by their teammates.

Prescott threw for 4,552 yards last season, but Dallas finished 7-9-1 as its defense allowed the most points in the NFL.

The Cowboys have since added Williams, Rashan Gary, Von Miller, and several other pieces to a defense that needed a major overhaul.

For Prescott, that physical identity is part of a larger push to finally change Dallas' postseason fortunes.

Dak Prescott frustrated by Cowboys' 30-year drought

Prescott has spent his entire NFL career trying to help Dallas end its championship drought. The Cowboys have not reached a Super Bowl since winning it following the 1995 season.

Speaking with Michael Irvin on The White House Podcast, via Netflix, Prescott admitted that the number still bothers him.

“It pisses me off,” Prescott said. “And I think it should. Anybody wearing this jersey, anybody that's a part of this organization, because you should be doing everything you can to give yourself a chance to get to that game and to win it.”

Prescott has reached the postseason five times during his career but has yet to take Dallas to the NFC Championship Game. The frustration has only grown as the drought reached three decades.

Still, Prescott said he has never felt more confident in the group around him. That belief now meets a revamped roster and a defense Dallas hopes can finally complement its quarterback.

After 30 years without a Super Bowl appearance, Prescott knows confidence alone won't change the Cowboys' history. The physical identity he described will have to show up when the season gets underway.

Written by

Evince Das