Barring injury, trade, or holdout, Dak Prescott is set to become only the third Dallas Cowboys player to start at quarterback for nine seasons. Last season, he tied Roger Staubach for third with eight seasons.
Staubach was the starter in 1971, 1973-1979. For reasons unknown, Tom Landry went back to Craig Morton in 1972.
A fine thank you to Staubach after leading Dallas to its first Super Bowl win in 1971.
Prescott now trails only Troy Aikman (12 seasons), and his predecessor Tony Romo (10 seasons).
Staubach will slide back to fourth with his eight years as the QB1, followed by Don Meredith with six seasons. Danny White rounds out the top six with five seasons.
Breaking Down The Stats
The Cowboys are beginning to gather out west in Oxnard for training camp. They will kick off their 65th NFL season in September. For Dak Prescott, he has a couple of franchise records in sight, especially this year.
Aikman, by virtue of his longevity, has the most wins at 94 in 165 starts. He also has that nice 3-0 record in Super Bowls.
Aikman also currently holds the franchise record for losses at 71, again, due to playing and starting for a dozen years.
Romo also ranks second in total wins as a starter with 78 against 49 losses. But his 2-4 playoff record and not even a single conference title game appearance hang around his neck like an anvil.
Prescott has a chance to move past Romo in wins this year. He currently sits at 73 wins and 41 losses.
He needs just six wins to catch Romo.
Prescott would likely love to avoid losing nine games to move into second in that category.
Like Romo, Dak Prescott’s 2-5 playoff record is something he’d rather not dwell on.
Prescott could catch Staubach for second in wins this year. Captain Comeback recorded an impressive 82-28 record during his run.
He also won two of the four Super Bowls he started.
Despite just a five-year run as QB1, and a few other years fending off challengers after he replaced Staubach, White has a solid 51-19 mark. He did get Dallas to three consecutive NFC title games, but like Bum Phillips and the Oilers, he couldn’t kick the Super Bowl door down.
Meredith went 43-25-3 in his time, playing mostly while the Cowboys were enduring their early growing pains. He did get Dallas to two NFL title games against the Packers, though.
The Ninth Season
Although only two have reached a ninth season as the starter, the other three have played at quarterback for Dallas for at least nine years.
The ninth season, at least in this sample, produced only one positive ending, and that came in 1977.
Roger Staubach
In Staubach’s ninth year in Dallas, he led the team to the big Super Bowl XII win over the Denver Broncos. Had he not lost that year to Morton, Staubach’s ninth year as QB1 would have been his last year in the NFL.
He got the Cowboys to the playoffs in 1979 with an 11-5 record. The Rams shocked everyone by knocking Dallas out in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Don Meredith
Meredith was the first to get in nine years as a starter. His ninth year, 1968, was also his final season. He went 11-2 that year, missing one start. Like Staubach, his final game was a divisional round loss, this against Cleveland.
Danny White
White’s first four years in the NFL came as a punter and backup to Staubach. Starting the clock in 1980, when he took over after Staubach retired, his ninth NFL season was also his final season.
Unlike Meredith and Staubach, his final year was spent as a backup. He went 29-for-42, passing for 274 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in three games in 1988.
Troy Aikman
Aikman remained the QB1 for all 12 seasons. In his ninth season, he went 6-10 and missed the playoffs.
His 12th and final year was little better. He played and started in just 11 games and went 4-7 in the 2000 season.
Tony Romo
After spending two years holding a clipboard, Romo finally took over as the starter during the 2006 season. In 2012, his ninth overall season, he went 8-8 and tied a career high for interceptions with 19.
His ninth season as the starter came in 2014 and he had a much better year. He led Dallas to a 12-3 record as a starter, missing a mid-season loss against Arizona.
Unfortunately, his 2014 season was marred by the catch by Dez Bryant that was ruled an incompletion in a playoff loss at Green Bay.
Craig Morton
Craig Morton is the only other Dallas signal caller to stay in Dallas for more than eight years.
Although Morton only enjoyed being the starter for three of his 10 seasons, he went 32-14-1 as a starter, but lost his only Super Bowl start in 1970.
His ninth season in Dallas as a back-up in 1973 saw him go 13-for-32 for 174 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The next season, he was traded to the Giants just six games into the year.
Dak Prescott’s Ninth Season Ahead
Prescott has quite a few marks to aim at as training camp begins on Wednesday. Some are for the record books. Others are for championship hopes.
It is possible that Dak Prescott will play for his future in Dallas beyond the 2024 season. He has a lot to do, and to prove, if he wants to challenge Aikman’s marks for wins and longevity.