After yet another troubling season, quarterback Dak Prescott faced heavy fan backlash even though he finished among the top in the league. Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith came to the defense with some strong words.

“Last year, the guy was a top-five quarterback,” Smith said on 105.3 The Fan. “Nobody wants to talk about that. But everybody wants to talk about, ‘Well, he’s a top-five quarterback, but he hasn’t made the playoffs.’ All that isn’t on him.

"You don’t have a defense. Defense wins championships. Defense will get you into the playoffs."

Prescott's 2025 season saw him throw for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and an impressive accuracy of 67.3%. With a phenomenal wide receiving duo in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, Prescott was getting those scores. But his work was being massively undone by the defense.

The Dallas Cowboys had a historically poor defense in 2025, allowing a franchise-record 511 points. They ranked last in pass defense (251.5 yards allowed) and 23rd against the run (125.5 yards allowed. In October, the quarterback himself said that the team should get defensive reinforcements through trades.

"Definitely can help a team," Prescott said.

Prescott struggled at times, no doubt. Of the 18 games Dallas played, the team scored less than 20 points in only four of them. Despite playing competitively, the defense let opponents gain on the Cowboys.

However, not everyone seemed to be convinced by Smith's argument about Prescott.

Fans React as Emmitt Smith Defends Dak Prescott

NFL fans quickly took to social media with mixed reactions. While some agreed with Smith’s stance, others pushed back, arguing that the quarterback still hasn’t delivered in crucial moments.

One fan wrote, "The defense was terrible last year but dak and the offense in like 5 or 6 games won't good last year", agreeing that both the offense and defense were at loss the last season.

Another fan noted, "But when the defense was there he couldn't beat the 49ers in playoffs lol", while another agreed with the original poster, "One too many hits to the head, I had dak responsible for 6 of our losses last year."

"The guy has had great personnel in his 10yr career Dez, Elliott, CeeDee, Parsons, great Oline and he manages 2 playoff wins in 10 years?", another fan noted. With a QB of Prescott's caliber, Dallas should have been in the postseason more.

Some fans echoed Smith's comments. "Well said Emmitt. If the GM was competent, the D would be build like Jimmy built the 90s teams and the cowboys under Dak would have some," one fan wrote.

"That's the part people skip. You can criticize Dak, but if your defense is that bad, your QB has to play nearly perfect just to keep you in it", another noted. There was only so much Prescott could do.

The QB enters the 2026 season after a year that he can still be proud of. But with a significantly better defense, and with Prescott chipping away at his flaws, Dallas should have no reason not to contend for the playoffs.

What do you think of Emmitt Smith's argument? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Afreen Kabir