Cowboys in NFC Championship? Dak Prescott says yes, reality politely disagrees

Dak Prescott predicts Cowboys in NFC Championship against Rams, leaving NFL fans amused, skeptical, and buzzing online.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) shakes hands with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford after the game at SoFi Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t play in the Dallas Cowboys’ preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, but he still made headlines.

Prescott was captured on video and audio speaking to Ram’s owner Stan Kroenke, along side Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, and said the following:

“We’ll meet y’all in the NFC Championship game,” Prescott said.

Dak Prescott shook hands with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and then told him "We'll meet y'all in the NFC Championship." pic.twitter.com/KvDzpd0KAI

— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) August 10, 2025

Kroenke shook his head (as if to say “OK”) and the two Jones’s were smiling.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the funniest thing ever said, I’d rate that at about a 4.82. It’s a little funny, but not “laugh so hard you cry” funny because making fun of the Cowboys is low-hanging fruit. (Editor’s note: Now watch this writer swing away at that fruit.)

Oh. Wait. Was he being serious? Because that may be even funnier.

The Dallas Cowboys and LA Rams in the NFC Championship this season? Maybe the Rams, but the Cowboys? America’s Team that hasn’t been to a NFC Championship this millennium?

The one in a contract negotiation standoff with a star player? Again.

The one with an owner who thinks he’s a good General Manager, but really is terrible at it and the three Super Bowls he won are more of a credit to Jimmy Johnson and the players than anything he did?

No. Sorry, not buying that.

The Cowboys are a dysfunctional team and, to quote ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. The latest dysfunctional thing is really just a repeat of an ongoing trend that started with Ezekiel Elliot. Or Emmitt Smith if you want to go back to that far.

Dallas and its star players usually have to go through a long, drawn-out dance to agree to a new contract extension. Prescott’s done it twice. CeeDee Lamb did it last year. Trevon Diggs went through it. Now, it’s Micah Parsons’ turn.

The only difference between Parsons and the previous examples is that he’s asked for a trade and they didn’t. At least not publicly. Of course, the two people smiling at what Prescott said aren’t likely to do that and now Cowboy fans wait to see what’ll happen.

What’ll happen likely won’t end up with the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. But it’s not Prescott’s fault for saying that. In fact, it’s what an owner who was griping about signing a player to a big extension and seeing that player get hurt eight games later, would like to hear a player say to an opposing owner. No harm in placating your boss, right?

Mississippi State fans, though, may be a bit confused by all of this. As one person put it to me, “it’s funny he’s making that claim when he couldn’t win any championships at Mississippi State.”

Not that many of you need this reminder, but Prescott was the quarterback for Mississippi State when it became the first-ever No. 1-ranked team in the College Football Playoff rankings. But the Bulldogs didn’t make the playoff, nor did they play for the SEC Championship.

So, as good of a football player and quarterback Prescott is (don’t forget he was a finalist for NFL MVP two seasons ago) maybe leave the bad takes people like me.

Or at least, do them off camera.