Dak Prescott poised to break Tony Romo’s Cowboys’ passing record vs. Eagles

FRISCO, Texas – Some sports records carry more weight than others. Dallas Cowboys defender Dak Prescott took possession of some predecessors Tony Romo all-time franchise records before, but one that is available to him in Week 12 against Philadelphia Eagles This is a big deal: the Cowboys' passing yardage record.

Romo currently sits atop the Dallas passing yards leaderboard with 34,183 yards, while Prescott is just 160 yards behind him with 34,024 yards. Prescott's longtime friend at All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb believes the record will be set in the first quarter on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

“Dak deserves it. He's done a lot for this franchise, this organization,” Lamb said Thursday. “He is essentially the epitome of a leader and a dynasty. As for Dak, he'll get it. I have no doubt about it. He'll probably get it in the first quarter.”

Prescott himself, oddly enough, may have seen this day coming because he was feeling a little arrogant after going from a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft to the league's offensive rookie of the year in a 13-win season.

“I'm touched. Thankful to be healthy and able to do this. [TV] I got a call from production and they asked me the same thing: “Could I have thought about this 10 years ago?” And I said, 'Yeah, I was very arrogant as a rookie,'” Prescott said. “When you play this game long enough and you can stay healthy, with my expectations for my game, it's going to happen. So just grateful, humbled, very grateful to be playing the game I love at such a high level. Continue to do this and look forward to the continuation of whatever happens.”

He believes that's something he shares with all the receivers and tight ends he's gotten from Lamb over the years. George Pickens and Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper to future Hall of Fame, dead end Jason Witten and much more.

“I definitely have a lot to share, whether it’s with CeeDee, whether it’s with Amari, that was a big part of it, right? All these receivers. Michael Gallup played a big role in those records, right? Dalton Schultz. Jake Ferg, Whitten,” Prescott said. – There are a lot of them. I'm just a product of a lot of great players. And that’s my point: if you play for a long time and play with the standards and expectations that I have, you should achieve similar results.”

However, Prescott himself is actually more proud of the fact that he already leads the Cowboys in completion percentage all-time with 67.1%. He also holds the record for career passer rating (98.5) and more.

“I would probably say what I'm most proud of is the completion percentage, and that's hard to do. It's hard to do every year, every game, and it's something I don't really think about long term,” Prescott said. “I just go into every game honestly, trying to score 80 points. [percent] and that's such a steep number, but that's what I want. I think I've already told you that after games, any loose end I don't like, unless it's good (where), I have to throw it away and live until the next game. This is probably what I am most proud of. For the rest of you, like I said, if you play this game long enough, I think you should to some extent.”

* 160 yards behind Tony Romo, who has become the Cowboys' all-time passing leader.

With Prescott back at the helm this season under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas' offense is one of the best in football. Prescott (2,587 yards passing, fifth in league standings) NFL), running back Javonte Williams (809 yards, fifth in the NFL) and wide receiver George Pickens (908 receiving yards, second in the NFL) are all playing like the top five players at their positions in the NFL's No. 2 scoring offense (29.6 ppg). The Cowboys are the only team in the league this year entering Week 12 with a player ranked in the top five in the NFL in passing, rushing and receiving. That doesn't even take into account Lamb, who missed three games with a sprained ankle.

“He plays basketball. I've said that many times,” Lamb said. “He takes control of the offense, he takes control of the game, he controls the game, he controls the game, and obviously we're firing on all cylinders when he does that.”

In Lamb's opinion, Prescott is playing like a top-five to top-10 quarterback this season. Although for Schottenheimer, Prescott is sometimes not even the most valuable in this, despite the brilliant statistics.

“I think he's invaluable in a lot of ways, the value he brings to this team: as a leader, in terms of responsibility, in that he holds himself more accountable than anyone else. He is the first to say, “I ruined everything; I ruined everything. Hey, I gotta get better.” You love that about your leader, one of your best players, the confidence he exudes, the way he teaches and reads some of these young guys,” Schottenheimer said. … We've had a few more player-led meetings over the last two weeks, we just wanted these guys to be able to talk a lot about football. Sometimes it's good for coaches to get out of the way and let these guys who have to step in between the white lines and do everything together do it. We did it both offensively and defensively. Duck, of course, is very involved in this matter, but I'm not there. I stay away there, but my experience with the guys there is great. They're cleaning up some kinks, which I think is going to be invaluable for us in this game and moving forward.”