Dak Prescott has suffered due to Jerry Jones’ roster construction has always been the narrative. This stems largely from the Dallas Cowboys‘ struggles on defense during the 2025 season, even as the offense was top-notch. However, former NFL player Emmanuel Acho does not believe this to be true.

“Dak Prescott has not become a punchline because of Jerry Jones’ roster building,” Acho said on Speakeasy. “Jerry Jones built a roster where the Dallas Cowboys had like nine all-pros in a singular season, including special teams players that are all pros. Jerry Jones built a roster that for the first time since 2007 had a player with a thousand rushing yards, a player with a thousand receiving yards, a player with 4,000 passing yards, a player with tens sacks, and a player with ten interceptions.

“… Dak Prescott goes to the Bay against the San Francisco 49ers and completely pisses down his leg. That’s what happened in that season. Dak Prescott became a punchline because the Dallas Cowboys won 15 straight home games…and Dak Prescott plays the youngest team in football, the Green Bay Packers, with an average age of 24.9 years old, and Dak Prescott throws not one, but two interceptions, and if I’m not mistaking an interception for a touchdown. That is why Dak Prescott became a punchline.”

The roster assembled by Jones included Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb, Zach Martin, and DaRon Bland. Despite these stacked names, the team was unable to make a deep playoff run.

Due to this, owner Jerry Jones has been a subject of a lot of criticism in recent years. The team last made the playoffs in 2023, and the loss there came at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, one of the games Acho referred to as a loss due to Prescott’s lack of efficiency.

In 2022, Dallas faced the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round, where Prescott threw for 206 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, as the Cowboys lost 19-12. A year later, Dallas faced the Green Bay Packers and suffered a humiliating defeat at home.

The Cowboys fell behind 27-0 before eventually losing 48-32. Prescott, meanwhile, threw a couple of interceptions once again in the first half, along with a pick-six. Citing those two particular losses, Acho believes that it’s Prescott who should be blamed and not Jerry Jones.

“Don’t gaslight Cowboys fans, Dak Prescott is to blame for Cowboys short comings, not Jerry Jones,” he wrote on X.

Both these games saw Prescott take accountability for his mistakes. However, the roster construction continued to be a topic of discussion, and fans pointed fingers at Jones for the failure in defense.

It is difficult to blame Prescott entirely. After all, the Cowboys did cause a lot of problems that were not on the QB alone. Against the 49ers, Dallas committed seven penalties for 50 yards and converted just 5 of 15 third downs, despite a solid defensive performance. Meanwhile, against the Packers, the Cowboys were flagged six times for 48 yards and endured a defensive collapse.

Dallas had no answer for Jordan Love, who finished 16-of-21 for 272 yards and three touchdowns, while Aaron Jones added 118 rushing yards and three scores. So, while it’s fair to say Prescott hasn’t played his best football in the postseason, he was still good enough to put the Cowboys in position to win. Then there’s Jerry Jones’ role in all of this.

Just last year, Jones traded Micah Parsons to Green Bay, and Dallas’ defense unraveled, eventually finishing last in the league. That’s why Acho’s comments on Prescott continue to draw mixed reactions.