Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was just 2.5 years old the last time they made an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Head coach Mike McCarthy was working with Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks under then-head coach Marty Schottenheimer.
Major League Soccer was celebrating its first season, Nintendo 64 debuted around the world and Bill Clinton won re-election over Bob Dole.
It was a completely different time.
Fast forward 28 years, and these two find themselves in the spotlight heading into Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Playoff matchup against McCarthy’s former Green Bay Packers team.
This is not your typical playoff game. A lot more is on the line for both Prescott and McCarthy. They know this all-too well.
“We’re excited for him for this game,” Mike McCarthy told reporters. “As much as everybody else knows what this game means for the Dallas Cowboys, it’s got something a little special as well. It’s important to get it for our own being.”
McCarthy is not immune from the outside noise. He must know that his seat is incredibly hot heading into Sunday’s game after Dallas saw its season come to an end against the rival San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs each of the past two years. It’s something that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has not hid from after a third consecutive 12-win regular season.
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Mike McCarthy under pressure to lead Dallas Cowboys to playoff success
McCarthy is 1-2 in the playoffs as Dallas’ head coach. The Cowboys have won all of four playoff games since the end of that 1995 season. This is not indicative of the Cowboys’ status as the so-called America’s Team. At 81 years old, Jones is not in a position to be patient.
“His record speaks for itself. I think what he’s done, the fact that we’ve put ourselves in this position over these last three years, I think that does speak for itself. We’ve got a lot of football left in no small part thanks to Mike, thanks to his staff, and thanks to some really outstanding football players around here. So, we’ll see how each game goes.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Mike McCarthy
Taking it one game at a time is the equivalent of McCarthy coaching for his job. A loss to the Packers in the wild card round would likely lead to his immediate departure from the organization.
All of this is magnified by some of the big-name head coaches suddenly available if Jones decided to pull the trigger. That includes Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and now-former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The dynamics certainly have changed since Dallas last took to the field Week 18 against the Washington Commanders.
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Dak Prescott feeling his own pressure for the Dallas Cowboys
Prescott, 30, is coming off a career-best regular season. In fact, his recent stretch of games has put the former fourth-round pick from Mississippi State in the NFL MVP conversation. Prescott has thrown 30 touchdowns compared to five interceptions over the past 11 games.
One of the quarterback’s stinkers came in a Week 16 loss to the Miami Dolphins in which he lost a fumble and failed to lead them down the field in what was a close game.
For Dallas, it has been the continuation of struggles on the road throughout the season. While Dallas boasted an 8-0 record at home, it was just 4-5 away from AT&T Stadium. Those four wins came against teams that posted a combined 17-51 record.
This won’t have an impact at home Sunday against Green Bay. But if Prescott puts up a dud of a performane in a Cowboys loss, it will lead to conversations about him not being able to win the big one. Prescott is 2-4 in his postseason career. That’s just not going to cut it, especially after Tony Romo also posted a 2-4 record in the playoffs during his time with Dallas before Dak took over.
From a micro perspective, Prescott is said to be line for a record-breaking contract extension this coming offseason that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid player.
Sure, Jones loves his quarterback. He’s not going to make a rash a decision at the game’s most-important position. Rather, it would be McCarthy who takes the fall.
But for a team such as the Cowboys with a rich history, the past three decades of playoff futility is on the mind of fans in Big D.
Playing the same position as all-time greats such as Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman for America’s Team already has you under a ton of pressure. Failing to come up big when it counts the most adds another layer to this.
The time is now for Prescott to do his thing on a grand stage. The pressure is on him. Will he be up to the task? We’ll find out soon enough.