Dak Prescott Explains Why Cowboys' Super Bowl Hopes Are More Realistic in 2026

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is not only operating with a Super Bowl or bust mentality for this coming season, he believes winning a title is more realistic in 2026.

Getting back to the playoffs would be a step in the right direction for the Cowboys after missing the postseason two years in a row, but Prescott is aiming higher than that.

Prescott was at an event for his "Faith. Fight. Finish." charity and revealed he indeed views this coming season as Super Bowl or bust, but that's nothing new for him.

"That's always been my mindset. It's the one thing I truly love about the Cowboys organization and the fanbase is it's that or nothing," Prescott said. "As I said wherever that was, that's what being a competitor is. If that's not how you're wired, if that's not how you think, whether you're a fan, whether you're a player, whether you're a coach, then I think you're in the wrong business and honestly I don't want you on my team. I love those expectations and they'll always be there."

When asked if he thinks winning a Super Bowl is more realistic in 2026, Prescott said he does believe that because of the offense the team has, the changes made on defense and the mix of veteran and young talent on the roster.

"Absolutely, obviously just each year you think that but when you have last year as we did, the offense that we did and you make the changes and you've got a great defensive coordinator and you got young guys, old guys, the great mix of vets with talent, yeah," Prescott said.

It's all about the defense

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker speaks with safety PJ Locke (1) during practice at the Ford Center. — Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker and safety PJ Locke. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Of course, a big part of the recipe for the Cowboys making a Super Bowl run in 2026 is the offense continuing to play at a high level, but that's pretty much a given at this point as long as Dallas avoids catastrophic injuries, especially to Prescott.

What will make or break the Cowboys' season is the defense, which was the worst in the NFL last season.

Dallas has made significant changes to that side of the ball, and Prescott pointed out one of them: hiring Christian Parker to replace Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator.

Dallas also traded for Rashan Gary and Dee Winters and signed Jalen Thompson, P.J. Locke and Cobie Durant while also going heavy on defense in the draft, with Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence headlining the 2026 class.

But with all the change also comes uncertainty, and not just from the individual players we listed, but for the unit as a whole since there's no telling how the new pieces will fit together and how Parker will fare in his first year calling plays.

In order to get back to the playoffs, the Cowboys probably just need to be average on defense, assuming the offense is once again one of the better units in the league.

However, if Dallas wants to be a Super Bowl contender, chances are the defense will have to be even better than that. Dating back to 2013, only two Super Bowl winners haven't had a top 10 unit.

That said, the two teams that won the Super Bowl without a top 10 defense, the 2021 Los Angeles Rams and 2022 Kansas City Chiefs, ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, which is average.

So, it is certainly possible for the Cowboys to sport an average defense and win the Super Bowl, but there's no doubt a better performance from that side of the ball will increase Dallas' chances.

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