Dak Prescott is ready for the season to start and begin to prove to doubters that the Dallas Cowboys can be as good if not better than they were a year ago when they won the NFC East and made the playoffs,

"Where we are right now, it's all excitement. It is," Prescott said. "It's truly a privilege to be the quarterback of this team, to be a leader of these guys, offense, defense, this coaching staff that we have. And yeah, especially with everything being said about us — you know what I mean? — the lack of what we have, keep writing, keep talking. We're ready to go play."

As Prescott was preparing for last year's season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while coming back from his own serious right ankle injury, there was talk of three potential 1,000-yard receivers in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, plus a future Hall of Fame left tackle in Tyron Smith.

As he prepares for the 2022 season opener against the Buccaneers on Sept. 11, he has just one 1,000-yard wide receiver (Lamb) while Gallup continues to rehab from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament and with Cooper having been traded to the Cleveland Browns. Smith is out until at least December with a torn hamstring that required surgery and is expected to be replaced by rookie Tyler Smith.

With Gallup out at least for the first game, Lamb is the only other receiver to have caught a touchdown pass from Prescott.

"I believe high expectations create higher results," Prescott said. "I feel like I'm my biggest critic. I'm tough on myself. I'm always going to hold myself to extreme, super-high expectations, higher than I think anyone else can. When you feel other people have those expectations for you as well, it's fun. It's fun. At that point, what you believe in yourself, other people believe in it, too. You just want to continue to improve and be the best you can."