National Football League

Does Cowboys QB Dak Prescott belong in NFL MVP conversation?

Published Nov. 15, 2023 3:51 p.m. ET

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of a plausible 6-3 2023 campaign. As for the lifelong Cowboy quarterback, he entered Wednesday tied for the ninth-best odds to win NFL MVP, according to FOX Bet.

On Tuesday's edition of "First Things First," cohost Chris Broussard argued that Prescott is being slated too low for the award.

"I think he's [Prescott] in the conversation. I don't think he's at the top, but I definitely think he's in the conversion, and I think 11th is wildly insulting," Broussard said. "There's 11 [teams] that are 6-3 or better and the quarterbacks of those teams that aren't in the MVP race, here they are: Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Geno Smith; Dak's numbers are better than all of those guys. Dak should be in there.

"[Patrick] Mahomes and Jalen [Hurts] and Lamar {Jackson], we view those guys as the reason their teams are winning. We think of those guys as 'this is the reason they're a great team.' Dak we think is a big part of the reason, but he is not the reason, and I think that's why it's so low. But that's way too low."

Micah Parsons: "Dak Prescott should be in the MVP conversation"

FOX Sports NFL Analyst Greg Jennings went a step further on Wednesday's edition of "The Carton Show," opining that Prescott has a legitimate chance of winning the award.

"What we came into the season hoping that he [Prescott] didn't do was throw the ball away to the opposing team; he has not done that this year," Jennings said. "He had one game in the game that we all understood was the biggest game of his season thus far, San Fran, where he threw three interceptions. Outside of that game, he's not turning the ball over. For me, when you look at what Dak Prescott is doing and the body of work, yes, he's in the conversation. …

"If he continues to play like this, his team is good, we know they're gonna be a playoff team, he will end up being the MVP."

Prescott, 30, has totaled 2,415 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and a 105.1 passer rating, while completing an NFL-best 70.7 percent of his passes this season. He has also rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

On the whole, Dallas is averaging 261.2 passing yards (sixth in NFL), 117.9 rushing yards (11th), 379.1 total yards (fourth) and 29.9 points (second) per game. Simultaneously, the team has accrued said production in bizarre fashion.

The Cowboys disemboweled their NFC East-rival and now-2-8 New York Giants, 40-0, in Week 1 and then again last week, 49-17; Prescott threw for a whopping 404 yards and four touchdowns in the second win over New York.

Two weeks after the first win over New York, Dallas lost to the now-2-8 Arizona Cardinals, 28-16. The Cowboys later fell 42-10 to the San Francisco 49ers, who have knocked them out of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Prescott, who totaled a league-high 15 interceptions across just 12 games in 2022, threw three interceptions in the latest loss.

After rebounding with a pair of wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, Dallas lost a heart-breaker to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10, 28-23.

Next up for the Cowboys is a road matchup against the Carolina Panthers (1-8) this coming Sunday (kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET and can be viewed on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

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