League MVP nominations show how Cowboys squandered Dak Prescott's stellar 2025 season

Another mediocre season from the Dallas Cowboys cost quarterback Dak Prescott a shot at winning NFL MVP. 

The Associated Press revealed its award finalists on Thursday. Prescott, who suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in November 2024, was named a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year but not MVP. 

The finalists for MVP were Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, New England Patriots QB Drake Maye, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. The winner will be announced at the NFL Honors on Feb. 5 (9 p.m. ET, NBC/NFL Network). 

Prescott would've been nominated had the Cowboys not gone 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs this season. One could even argue he still should've been named a finalist. 

Dak Prescott carried the Cowboys in 2025, despite a dreadful defense

In a story published Thursday, ESPN analytics expert Seth Walder named his Top 100 real NFL MVP candidates for the 2025 season. Prescott came in at No. 2 behind Maye.

"With the quarterback for the NFC's No. 5 seed (Stafford) potentially winning MVP this season, we sometimes draw a distinction between team and player," wrote Walder. "I believe that same courtesy ought to be extended to great quarterbacks like Prescott who miss the playoffs thanks to their team's poor defense."

The Cowboys traded star defensive end Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the start of the season. Without him, Dallas' defense folded, allowing the most points per game in the NFL (30.1). Meanwhile, the Rams surrendered the 10th-fewest points per game (20.4), and the Patriots gave up the fourth fewest (18.8). 

This often left Prescott playing from behind. 

"Prescott played only 26 percent of his snaps with the lead — a dramatic difference from Maye (54 percent) and Stafford (46 percent)," wrote Walder. 

Despite that, Prescott ranked third in the NFL in passing yards (4,552), fourth in touchdown passes (30) and fifth in QBR (70.3). He also posted the sixth-highest EPA (94.09) among QBs, via Sumer Sports. EPA (expected points added) measures how much a player improves a team's scoring chance, using down, distance, field position and time as variables. 

Yes, Prescott played with two of the best WRs in the league (George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb), but so does Stafford (Puka Nacua, Davante Adams). And Maye certainly benefits from throwing passes to wideout Stefon Diggs. Let's also not forget the QB's stellar play is one reason the Cowboys didn't capsize in 2025.

"I think we're spoiled. I think he's one of the best players in the league," Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Prescott following a 37-22 Week 5 win over the New York Jets (via The Athletic's Jon Machota). "He's playing with a ton of confidence." 

To help Prescott contend for MVP again in 2026, the Cowboys should improve their defense this offseason. That would start with targeting a Parsons replacement in the NFL Draft, perhaps Texas A&M Aggies DE Cashius Howell. 

Prescott missed out on an opportunity to win league MVP for the first time in his 10-year career in 2025. But he at least deserves an honorable mention.