Cowboys QB Dak Prescott channels Super Bowl glory with bold shirt decision

The Dallas Cowboys landed in Oxnard, California on Monday for their 20th training camp at the site, carrying more optimism than usual after an offseason built around fixing last year's defense and keeping their receiving corps intact.

But even before the first practice began, it was Dak Prescott’s outfit that immediately grabbed everyone’s attention.

Dak Prescott’s training camp shirt sends clear championship message

The Athletic’s Jon Machota shared a photo of Prescott arriving at the team hotel in a vintage white Super Bowl XXX “Champions” shirt. “Jan. 28, 1996: Cowboys 27, Steelers 17. Dallas' last SB trip,” Machota wrote alongside the picture.

The shirt commemorated the Cowboys' most recent Super Bowl victory, a win that came three years before Prescott was even born.

Prescott has been vocal about his championship expectations heading into this season. “It’s Super Bowl or bust,” Prescott said. “And truthfully, that’s the only reason you play this game.” “And truthfully, that's the only reason you play this game.”

Fan reaction to the shirt was mixed but plentiful. Some called it fitting motivation given Prescott's mindset, writing that it was the right attitude to bring into camp, while others joked he had jinxed the team again given how the franchise's championship drought has stretched on. Either way, the moment served as a reminder that Dallas has not reached even a conference championship game since that 1996 victory nearly 30 years ago, a gap Prescott has spent his entire career trying to close.

Why Prescott’s vintage Super Bowl shirt has everyone talking

Prescott's outfit is not the only sign of confidence within the building. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have shown off their chemistry all offseason, a bond that helped the pair combine for more than 2,500 receiving yards and produced one of the league's most feared receiving duos last season, after Dallas placed the franchise tag on Pickens in February to keep the duo together for at least one more year.

The biggest question remains on defense, where new coordinator Christian Parker takes over a unit that ranked dead last in the NFL last season, allowing 30 points per game, with rookie safety Caleb Downs and a shift to a 3-4 scheme among the changes brought in to fix it.

Dallas opens its first padded practice on August 3 and kicks off the regular season on the road against the New York Giants on September 13, giving Prescott and the rest of the roster a little more than six weeks to turn training camp buzz into an actual contender before the games start counting toward the standings.

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• Colts ready to dump once-promising franchise QB as Cowboys emerge in surprise trade buzz
• Jerry Jones gets bold Cowboys prediction from former Super Bowl champion after massive defensive overhaul
• Cowboys' Jerry Jones faces tough questions on $52 million decision as camp begins