It was a simple question to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott

It wasn’t meant to be messy and start trouble

But this is where we are with the Cowboys after two consecutive empty seven-win seasons, a Super Bowl drought that’s now 31 years old, coming off a deflating and humbling 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in the season opener of a season that was supposed to the beginning of something new and different.

Prescott was asked about fan frustration with their play against the Giants and a here we go again defeatist mentality seeping back in.

He responded that fans should root like a fan, be patient and just trust them.

“Yeah, it’s a long season,” Prescott said. “I love our fans, but I don’t necessarily feel like I need to speak to that fan. Sorry for them. If they’re a real fan, they’ll stick with it. They’ll trust it. They’ll believe in it. And at the end of the day, like we just said, it is one game. And yeah, it sucks. It’s the first game. Nobody’s more pissed than myself and these guys in here. We didn’t want to start 0 and one. We’re as excited as any fan out there about the off season and things we’ve done in the training camp. So turn that energy and come to the game this Sunday and be as loud as you can and we appreciate it.”

So I asked, why should the fans blindly trust them.

Yes, fans should root for their team and be as loud as possible.

But asking a fan base that has seen nothing but disappointment over the last 30 years _ one that allowed themselves to believe again heading into 2026 following back-to-back 7-win seasons because of all the changes the team made to roster and the coaching staff only to seemingly watch a repeat of last season on defense in the season opener _ to trust and believe might be a bridge too far. 

“Y’all trying to get me caught up with these fans,” Prescott said. “I’m going there.”

This is not about getting Prescott on the wrong side of the fans.

But it was the Cowboys who said they were moving different and doing things different in the offseason to finally put a winner on the field. It was Prescott who showed at training camp with a Super Bowl t-shirt on from the team’s last trip to the big game in 1996, sending at message to his teammates and NFL about what they were shooing for in 2026.

And then to open the season with coach Brian Schottenheimer regretting his opening play call and the offense, which Prescott dubbed the Greatest Offense There Is (GOTI) to start slowly and set a bad tone and the defense to get run over and ran through like last year would make anyone question their faith in the team and be leary about trusting what they say.

But this where the Cowboys are in Week 2 heading into what is now a must-win game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Yes, it’s still a long season.

But it will get late early if the Cowboys don’t beat Washington and fall to 0-2.

Roughly 10 percent of the team’s make the playoffs after dropping their first two games.

That number is lower if the first games are within the division.

And the Cowboys certainly don’t want to be 0-2 heading in next week’s international matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil.

“There’s definitely must wins in this league,” Prescott. “You don’t want to say it and at the end of the day, if it didn’t happen, there’ still time. There’s a lot of opportunity. But yeah, just from a team, this team, all the changes, all the excitement, we’ve got to go win. And what a great opportunity to do it at home against a division opponent, opponent that we know pretty well.”

Interestingly enough, the Cowboys thought they knew the Giants very well.

Now owner Jerry Jones says the Giants were better than the Cowboys thought they would be and maybe his team wasn’t as good as he hoped.

Vice president Stephen Jones allowed the Cowboys might have had some unrealistic expectations of themselves to start the season.

Rather than trust, Prescott and the Cowboys want the fans to have faith in them.

Trust, which mens having firm belief or confidence in the reliability, truth and ability of of a person or thing, is something different: 

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Prescott hopes to take the Cowboys fans to church on Sunday at the AT&T Stadium house of worship in Arlington.