Bulldogs in the NFL: Dak Prescott Says 2021 Will Be a 'Very Special' Year For the Cowboys

Things quickly went awry for the Dallas Cowboys on offense after former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocated his right ankle against the New York Giants in October.

They finished out the 2020 season with a 6-10 overall record, losing seven of their 11 games without the signal-caller.

With training camp set to start later this month, Prescott is looking forward to getting back to the football field and has set his expectations high.

This year will be different from the last -- something 'very special' to reflect on by season's end -- according to Prescott.

“Improvement, a lot of improvement, obviously from last year to this year, but deeper than that from those first five games,” Prescott said in an interview with Newy Scruggs of NBC 5 DFW.

"Take those first five games and just say we’re going to be better than that as a team. We’re going to play more complementary football from defense to offense to special teams, and then we’re going to have a healthy team. We’ve all approached the offseason. We approached the season the right way. We’re just excited. We’re excited that hopefully, we can stay healthy, we can get good fortune on that end. And we can just put everything we’ve worked hard for together on all stages and all phases of the game. We’re excited for this year. It’s going to be very, very special for us and for Cowboys fans.”

Having Prescott at the helm will be one of the most important factors in Cowboys having a bounceback season, but any productive offense starts with a stout offensive line.

Dallas offensive linemen La'el Collins, Zack Martin and Tyron Smith missed a combined 36 games in 2020, but if they can all stay healthy in 2021 with their starting quarterback intact, we could see an immediate boost from Game 1 onward.

The Cowboys were defense-heavy in this year's draft, using their first six selections on that side of the ball, and could quickly become an all-around force if those picks pan out the way the team hopes and if the defense as a whole can avoid the injury bug -- something that has been an issue in recent history.

Dallas opens the season with a road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7:20 p.m. CT on Sept. 9 in Raymond James Stadium.