Stephen A. Smith Delivers An Uncomfortable Truth About Dak Prescott And The Dallas Cowboys

Stephen A. Smith says the Dallas Cowboys are too comfortable, and Dak Prescott is in his sights.© Image via: X/@NFL

Stephen A. Smith opened Friday's First Take on ESPN with a verdict on the Dallas Cowboys that few players would enjoy hearing: the team is comfortable, and comfortable teams lose. His target was quarterback Dak Prescott, who had spent Thursday in Frisco explaining why a 3-5 Cowboys offense still lacks a clear identity, four days after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Smith heard that answer and called himself disgusted. He wanted visible anger from a quarterback paid $60 million a year, and he backed it up with the numbers.

Stephen A. Smith Wants Dak Prescott To Show More Anger Inside The Dallas Cowboys Locker Room

Smith began with praise, which made the turn that followed land harder. He said:

"Here's what really, really bothers me about him: he's a great player. He can ball. He's not a scrub. But the priority is always on saying the right things and coming across polished."

From there he moved from the quarterback to the whole organization. "They're living the life in Dallas. That's why they're trash: because they're so comfortable. They're so comfortable that losing doesn't hurt enough."

Smith leaned on Prescott's contract to sharpen the point. The quarterback has earned $337 million over seven seasons, according to Smith, and has one playoff win to show for it. "I wanna see him ticked. I wanna see him calling out teammates," he said, adding that he doesn't see that side of Prescott.

Powerful: Cowboys OL Tyler Guyton reveals that QB Dak Prescott has a new slogan for their offense this year. "GOTI - Greatest offense there is." Dallas wants to win a Super Bowl this season. https://t.co/uQVNgCnrxS

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 31, 2026

The tone is a notable shift. Smith defended Prescott in October after a stadium contractor shouted "embarrassing" at him following the 24-16 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, praising the way he handled the tunnel confrontation. This time, his complaint has nothing to do with how Prescott handles critics and everything to do with how he talks about his own locker room.

Dak Prescott's Offensive Identity Answer Leaves Brian Schottenheimer And The Dallas Cowboys Searching

The quote that set Smith off came when a reporter asked Prescott if the offense had found an identity it could be proud of. "Is it one we're proud of? I don't know." He followed with: "We'll be better, I can promise."

A week before, after the 38-21 win at Philadelphia, Prescott had called that game "an attempt at re-identifying who we want to be." Eight games into the season, that is a strange phrase to hear from the person running the offense.

The data backs up the uncertainty. CBS Sports ranks Dallas 31st in pre-snap motion rate and 28th in run rate, and the Cowboys average only 94.1 rushing yards per game, which is eighth-worst in the league. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer designs that approach, so the identity question belongs to him as much as to his quarterback.