Troy Aikman had his fair share of criticism and hard times as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, both in the beginning and in the end of his career, so he can, on some level, relate to what Dak Prescott is up against as the face of the most scrutinized and criticized franchise in all of sports.
Aikman, a former first-overall pick in 1989, fell out of the gate to a record of 0-11 as a rookie, and suffered a combined record of 14-24 over his first three seasons.
Needless to say, he was then labeled by many outside of the building as anything but the Chosen One, only to prove them all wrong in Year 4 and beyond — ultimately leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins via a Hall of Fame career. Prescott, a former fourth-round pick entering his ninth year, is still working to overcome the postseason obstacle, but Aikman hasn’t written the three-time Pro Bowler off.
“I still believe in Dak,” said Aikman, speaking at an event honoring the City of Dallas for being recognized as the No. 1 Sports Business City by Sports Business Journal. “I feel like until you do it, there are always those criticisms. Peyton Manning heard that his first three years — he didn’t win a playoff game — and then you look back at it now and you can’t imagine anybody would question whether or not he could win a playoff game.”
Prescott and the Cowboys have taken the NFC East crown in two of the last three seasons to go along with a regular season record of 36-15, but they’re also now 1-2 in the tournament that followed.
