ARLINGTON, Texas -- Growing up in Haughton, Louisiana, Dak Prescott had dreams he would one day be the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback, setting the kinds of records he set Sunday.
With a 24-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 37-20 win against the Washington Commanders, Prescott became the Cowboys' all-time leader in touchdown passes, bringing his career total to 249, one more than Tony Romo.
"Sometimes it's great being naïve, and I was a little naïve just growing up thinking that I could do this and I could do that, but yet I think it puts such an insurmountable belief in my head that I can accomplish whatever I want to accomplish," Prescott said. "And any thought that I said or anything that I wanted to do, I mentioned it and I said it out loud. I had a mom and I had brothers who poured gas on those thoughts, who told me I could. And as I said, you can call it arrogance, you can call it confidence, belief, whatever you need to. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have those thoughts, if I didn't believe in myself like that.
"And I just encourage the next little kid out there who comes from the trailer park in Louisiana or wherever he may come from and doesn't know if he can do it or have the resources or have the family that you're right, believe in what you want to believe in and find the people that support that, and you can do it."
The Cowboys needed all four of Prescott's touchdown passes Sunday to secure their first win of the 2026 season. He finished with 279 yards while completing 26 of 31 passes. He also ran four times for 26 yards. It was the fifth four-touchdown game of his career against Washington.
Prescott said he woke up Sunday feeling extra emotional, perhaps a sign that he would set the mark. He wore a Roger Staubach No. 12 jersey to AT&T Stadium, an ode to the Hall of Fame quarterback he called the best in team history.
On the first drive, he and Lamb connected for a 3-yard touchdown score. On the third, he found tight end Jake Ferguson for a 10-yard score. In the third quarter, he and Ferguson connected for a 12-yard touchdown to tie Romo's mark.
The record-breaker was an arching throw to Lamb down the sideline that the receiver ripped away from Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil. It was the 39th touchdown pass Prescott has thrown to Lamb, the most he has thrown to any player.
"It was definitely fitting and it wasn't a great ball," Prescott said. "Always one-on-one, I put it out there and I'm like, 'CeeDee, please just get this over with,' and he did. And then I heard the crowd. I'm like, 'Did he catch it? Did he not?' And then when he's running down the end zone, I'm like, 'Thank God this is over. We can just move on and just play ball now.'"
Lamb was able to track down the ball for Prescott. In the locker room after the game, coach Brian Schottenheimer saved Prescott's accomplishment for last. A loud roar could be heard outside the room as owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke to the media.
"We presented him the ball, and he was able to make an amazing speech to his teammates," Schottenheimer said. "And as you guys can imagine, it was a lot about what motivates him. And it's not about him, it's about them, the guys looking at him, and it's a very emotional scene."
A fourth-round pick in 2016, Prescott was already the Cowboys' leader in passing yards, completions, attempts, passer rating and completion percentage. He now stands alone in every category over Staubach, fellow Hall of Famer Troy Aikman and his former teammate, Romo.
"I just think it's such a statement for how he did it, how he does it," Jones said. "And he does it with hard, hard work. And he makes it look pretty easy out there. But anybody that knows ... you guys that see him at practice and training camp [know] that he's the hardest-working guy on the team. So I'm proud for him."
Prescott is 33 and in his 11th year. He is signed through 2028.
"I'm not taking it lightly, but it's just the beginning," Prescott said. "I want to double it. Plan on playing for a while. So just getting started."
Prescott yearns to join Staubach and Aikman in another way -- winning a Super Bowl.
"The main thing," he said.
