Mississippi State Professional Athletes

The Dak Dilemma: Elite Numbers, Ugly Record

Mississippi State's most famous export is playing some of the best football of his career — and it still isn't saving the Dallas Cowboys.

Dak Prescott threw for 276 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, added 19 rushing yards, and watched Dallas lose anyway, 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil. The Cowboys are now 1-2, and the questions aren't about Prescott's production — CBS Sports notes he profiles as a top-five quarterback while leading a top-10 scoring offense — they're about everything happening around him.

The Ravens loss stung in particular. Late-game play-calling drew fierce criticism, with Dallas running passing plays that stopped the clock inside the 10-yard line before ultimately hitting a field goal with seven seconds left. The sequence encapsulated a recurring Cowboys nightmare: brilliant enough to compete, flawed enough to lose. Prescott was direct about moving on, but also candid about his relationship with head coach Brian Schottenheimer, with the two reportedly needing to clear the air following the collapse.

The Porter Jr. Lifeline

Then came Wednesday's curveball. Dallas traded a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. — and Prescott didn't hide his excitement. He hyped Porter as a cornerback who can "shut a side down," a significant endorsement for a defense that has been the team's Achilles' heel all season.

The Cowboys enter Week 4 against the Houston Texans with must-win urgency. Russell Wilson, for one, is a believer — predicting Prescott will "go crazy" given the stakes. Prescott himself pushed back hard on the "litmus test" framing when asked about the Texans game, but the reality is unavoidable: a 1-3 start would put Dallas in serious early-season trouble.

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Jones Fires Back, Simmons Grinds On

While Prescott battles optics in Dallas, two Bulldogs defenders are making noise on their own fronts.

Chris Jones and the Kansas City Chiefs cruised past the Miami Dolphins 24-10 in Week 3, but the Chiefs' pass rush has drawn criticism for being quieter than expected through the early season. Jones wasn't having it. The veteran defensive tackle lashed out at media critics, defending Kansas City's defensive line heading into a Week 4 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders and their revamped offense featuring Kirk Cousins, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers. Jones notched a sack in the win and made clear the Chiefs' defense isn't ready to be written off.

Jeffery Simmons is in a tougher spot. The Titans fell to 0-3 after a brutal 12-7 loss to the New York Giants in Week 3 — a game that ended on a Cam Ward interception in the end zone. Simmons recorded a sack in the loss, but Tennessee's offense can't seem to give its defense anything to work with. He spoke honestly this week about the challenge of stopping former Titan Derrick Henry as the Titans face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, a matchup that looks even more daunting given the Ravens just torched Dallas.

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Also Watching: Jenkins Goes Down in Cleveland

Elgton Jenkins, the former Bulldog now starting at center for the Cleveland Browns, was ruled out for Thursday Night Football against the Steelers after suffering a concussion. Cleveland's offensive line depth will be tested with backup Luke Wypler stepping in — a notable absence for a Browns team already navigating a precarious season.

Mississippi State's NFL footprint is wide. Whether it leads anywhere meaningful this week depends heavily on what happens in Arlington on Sunday.

The Record That Redefines a Legacy

Dak Prescott did something in Week 2 that no quarterback in Dallas Cowboys history had ever done — and he did it with characteristic efficiency.

Facing the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Prescott completed 26 of 31 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns, pacing a dominant 37-20 home victory. The performance pushed him past Tony Romo's franchise record for career passing touchdowns, with his 249th TD pass etching his name alone at the top of the Cowboys' all-time record book. His passer rating on the afternoon was 143.8 — a near-perfect number for a near-perfect day.

Tom Brady, calling the game, was audibly impressed — his on-air praise for Prescott went viral almost immediately. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was equally effusive after the win, holding nothing back in his assessment of the Mississippi State product. Prescott, for his part, got emotional after the record-breaking score, reflecting on his late mother — a moment the NFL highlighted in its own postgame coverage.

CBS Sports notes that while Prescott now leads Dallas franchise history in multiple statistical categories, two all-time Cowboys legends still rank ahead of him in the broader quarterback hierarchy. The record, then, is a milestone — not a ceiling. With the Cowboys heading to Rio de Janeiro for a Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium, Prescott's record-setting momentum will be tested on an international stage.

Jones Puts His Money Where His Loyalty Is

While Prescott was making history on the field, fellow Bulldog Chris Jones was making news off it — and closer to home.

The Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle announced plans to donate his own NIL money to Mississippi State's NIL fund in an effort to keep Heisman candidate Kamario Taylor in Starkville beyond the 2026 season. Taylor, just three games into his first full season as the Bulldogs' starter, has already generated serious buzz — and serious retention concerns in an era where portal movement is constant.

Jones isn't the only MSU legend rallying around Taylor. Prescott told Heavy Sports he's "excited" about what Taylor represents for the program, drawing a line from Taylor's emergence back to his own days leading the Bulldogs to an improbable Orange Bowl run more than a decade ago. For Prescott, it's personal: Mississippi State finding its next great signal-caller validates everything that came before.

Jones's NIL pledge is notable precisely because it's voluntary and self-funded — a pro athlete using his own earnings to protect the pipeline at his alma mater. It underscores just how seriously the Bulldogs' NFL alumni are taking the program's current moment.

Around the League

The rest of the Bulldog contingent had a quieter week. Jeffery Simmons recorded a sack for the Tennessee Titans in a 24-20 loss to the Eagles. Tyrus Wheat suited up alongside Prescott in Dallas's win over Washington. Brenen Thompson caught one pass for 13 yards in the Chargers' 26-14 loss to the Raiders. Montez Sweat and the Bears managed just three points in a 9-3 loss to Minnesota — a tough afternoon for Chicago's defense and offense alike.

The headline, though, belongs to Prescott and Jones: one rewriting the Cowboys record book, the other rewriting the NIL playbook. Not a bad week to be a Bulldog.