Poll: How many games do the Dallas Cowboys have the better quarterback in 2024?

The Dallas Cowboys look to have the advantage at quarterback in a majority of their games in 2024.

Football is a team sport. While this is true, there are also multiple things that ring true simultaneously. One of them is that the quarterback position is a bit (putting it lightly) more important than the rest.

A few years ago Mike McCarthy had what I thought was a great quote. It was two summers ago to be specific and he referenced the old adage that defense wins championships, but he added a qualifier.

“Defense wins championships, but the Super Bowl is won by the quarterback.”

It is hard to argue with this logic based on most of NFL history. Consider the Super Bowl that Mike McCarthy himself won, Aaron Rodgers obviously had a lot to do with it.

Just look at our current moment if you want. The Kansas City Chiefs are current title holders (even if their rings are a bit inaccurate), and while their latest run involved a much stronger defensive effort than usual, it was the critical plays that Patrick Mahomes made down the stretch and in overtime that served as the difference maker.

To be clear, Dak Prescott is not Patrick Mahomes and regular season games are not the Super Bowl, but in the spirit of this we are going to look at the upcoming season by the all-important quarterback position.

How many games do the Cowboys have the advantage at quarterback in 2024?

Looking at the Cowboys schedule by opposing quarterback is an illuminating process. This is not a perfect science, or even any kind of science in general. But the exercise helps decide what kind of matchup the team is in for if things go chalk (which rarely happens to be fair). Today’s NFL revolves more around the quarterback than ever before so understanding which ones are pulling the strings on the other side of things for Dallas is worth knowing.

Here is the schedule with opposing quarterbacks as we believe them to be in the summer. Things can, and likely will, change of course.

2024 Dallas Cowboys Schedule by projected starting quarterback

• Week 1: Deshaun Watson (CLE)
• Week 2: Derek Carr (NO)
• Week 3: Lamar Jackson (BAL)
• Week 4: Daniel Jones (NYG)
• Week 5: Russell Wilson (PIT)
• Week 6: Jared Goff (DET)
• Week 8: Brock Purdy (SF)
• Week 9: Kirk Cousins (ATL)
• Week 10: Jalen Hurts (PHI)
• Week 11: C.J. Stroud (HOU)
• Week 12: Jayden Daniels (WAS)
• Week 13: Daniel Jones (NYG)
• Week 14: Joe Burrow (CIN)
• Week 15: Bryce Young (CAR)
• Week 16: Baker Mayfield (TB)
• Week 17: Jalen Hurts (PHI)
• Week 18: Jayden Daniels (WAS)

The question is obviously about which games the Cowboys hold the advantage in with Dak Prescott being their own quarterback. Before we proceed any further we will agree that we don’t all agree on who Dak is. Onward.

It makes the most sense to put these in categories. We will start with the slam dunks, so to speak.

The Slam Dunks, Dak Prescott Is Easily Better Than These Quarterbacks

• Deshaun Watson
• Derek Carr
• Daniel Jones (2x)
• Russell Wilson
• Jayden Daniels (2x)
• Bryce Young
• Baker Mayfield

Obviously Jayden Daniels is a rookie and a lot of people believe highly in him. Given that he has yet to play an official NFL down we are going to put him here but understand that his trajectory is much different.

That being said, we have eight games in which Dak Prescott is easily the better quarterback in the game.

Deshaun Watson has not shown the ability to be a top-tier quarterback in a few years now, regardless of what kind of contract the Browns gave him. Derek Carr is a journeyman at this point and Daniel Jones may not even fight off Drew Lock for the entire season. Russell Wilson is a storied player but not who he once was. Perhaps Bryce Young turns things around, but suggesting he is even a top 20 quarterback right now would be overly generous. Baker Mayfield was a great story last year, but the evidence over his entire career suggests 2023 was more of right-place-right-time sort of thing.

On to our next category…

Kind Of A Discussion, The Case Can Be Made For These Quarterbacks Being Better Than Dak Prescott In Certain Moments Or Instances

• Jared Goff
• Brock Purdy
• Kirk Cousins
• Jalen Hurts (2x)
• C.J. Stroud

In my personal opinion, the only players who should be in this tier are Cousins, Hurts and Stroud. Jared Goff played very well for Detroit last year, but that hardly means he is better than Dak. Yes, the Lions as a team went further in the playoffs, but I would be stunned if anybody would choose Goff over Prescott in any sort of situation.

Similarly Brock Purdy does all that he has asked to do at a high level and deserves praise for that, but knowing how to work the Iron Man suit does not make you Tony Stark. Give me Dak over Purdy an easy 100 out of 100 times.

That being said, there are surely people who may prefer one of Goff or Purdy (maybe both) over Dak which is why they are here. Back to my personal opinion it makes sense for Cousins (who is forever underrated), Hurts and Stroud to be here.

Cousins played at an insane level before getting injured last season, and while odds are low that he can replicate that coming off of an Achilles injury, we can’t count that as any sort of easy day at the office. Similarly we have seen Jalen Hurts do some really special things for which he deserves a lot of credit, and even though it is more clear than ever that 2022 was his exception and not norm, it is fair to put him here.

Stroud is a bit unique as he played at such a high level as a rookie. There is all the reason in the world to believe in him, especially with Stefon Diggs added to his group of friends in the offense, so he makes the cut as well.

If we say that Dak (aka the Cowboys) goes .500 against these quarterbacks then that would be three wins and three losses. Given that we expect him to be the better quarterback on nine occasions that gives Dallas the advantage 12 times so far.

Unfortunately that is where the number stops growing in my mind.

These Quarterbacks Would Be Agreed Upon By Most To Be Better Than Dak Prescott

• Lamar Jackson
• Joe Burrow

Even if you are a big fan of Dak Prescott, it’s hard to argue that he is better than either Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow.

Could an argument be made that Dak had a better and more MVP worthy season than Jackson in 2023? Maybe, but even then it was Lamar’s second MVP. The data is overwhelming in that sense.

Joe Burrow may have missed a ton of last season due to injury but is not someone who you should bet against. We are talking about two of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL and maybe Dak is on that list, but if he is it is probably at number five behind these two.

All told this gives Dallas an advantage (based on my super precise analysis) in 12 games across the season. If we assume they win a majority of those and steal a couple of others, then they will probably land somewhere around 10-12 wins.

What a shock, given everything we have seen over the last three years!