Dak Prescott heard "MVP!" chants even on the road as he carried the Cowboys to a win on Sunday. But does he actually have a legitimate case for the award?
And based on Dallas' offseason drama and being the embodiment of "most valuable" to his team, Prescott has a solid argument to be in the MVP conversation early in the season.
By the numbers, Prescott was at his best in the Cowboys' 37-22 win over the New York Jets. Prescott completed 18-of-29 passes for 237 yards through the air and 28 more on the ground. He accounted for four of Dallas' five touchdowns — four touchdown passes — while playing a clean game with no turnovers.
The Cowboys' 37 points matched the second-most points they scored in a game this season and were just three shy of the 40 they put on the board last week. Thanks to Prescott, Dallas has surpassed 30 points three times through their first five games.
And after 319 yards and three touchdown passes in the tie against Green Bay, Prescott has now thrown for 556 yards with seven touchdown passes in back-to-back games.
⬇️ @dak on the MVP chants from fans at today’s game
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 5, 2025
(via @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/A49IwGJ3mf
Despite his recent heroics, especially while dealing with Dallas' subpar defense — a big reason why the Cowboys sit at 2-2-1 — most would point to 2024 winner Buffalo's Josh Allen or Detroit's Jared Goff as the early MVP front-runners. Of course, their teams have been winning more often and are considered legitimate contenders.
Not to say they don't deserve consideration and respect, because both Allen and Goff have proved to be extremely valuable and have been playing at an elite level for years.
But when describing a player so valuable that his team would be simply lost without him, look no further than Prescott. Take Prescott off the Cowboys, and Dallas may have to worry about going winless.
Overall, Prescott has completed 71.3% of his passes, thrown for 1,356 yards, run for 50 yards, scored 11 total touchdowns to only three interceptions and posted a quarterback rating of 76.3.
In comparison with the rest of the league, Prescott is second in passing yards, third in completion percentage, tied for 14th in touchdown passes and fourth in QBR. So he's near the top of the league in most important categories, and doing so while being very efficient as well.
The pressure on Prescott was even intensified after Dallas controversially traded away defensive stud Micah Parsons, shipping him off to the rival Packers just weeks before the season kicked off.
To his credit, Prescott has never complained, stayed positive and elevated his own play, hoping to help the Cowboys prove doubters wrong. And if they do and make the playoffs, that likely means Prescott continues this level of play. By doing so, he would argue as the NFL's "most valuable" player.
It's also clear Prescott cares far more about winning than he does worrying about an MVP.
“I mean, my ears work, so I heard it, but I didn’t hear it. It’s Week 5, so I don't care. I don't care if it was Week 17," said Prescott about the "MVP!" chants. "I've told y'all what I want to win — the team goals. To me, I didn't play near as well as a game that I wanted to. So yeah, those were just happy fans.”
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