Steelers' Najee Harris Said It's Undeniable That Dak Prescott Gets The Most Hate In The NFL

Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Najee Harris was on Radio Row before Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. He's been promoting Bounty Paper Towels, along with fellow teammate, Jaylen Warren. Harris spoke with SMG Central and was asked who the most hated player is in the NFL. He didn't hesitate before saying Dak Prescott.

Prescott is the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and he has become one of the more polarizing names in football. The dislike for Prescott is really surprising, considering he seems to be a really good guy. He even won the 2022 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. 

When it comes to Prescott, it feels like the goalposts are always moving. He gets compared to other quarterbacks in the league and when he outperforms one of them, then the benchmarks change. His supporters say that he is held to a different standard than Josh Allen or Jordan Love. But most quarterbacks face this kind of criticism, they are held to a higher standard than the rest of the team. Harris said he definitely feels like Prescott is treated unfairly and he even manages to fit in a little mic-drop-worthy comment aimed at the defense while doing it. 

"The most hate? Oh, Dak Prescott! That's a no-brainer. I don't think people understand how hard it is to play quarterback in the NFL and not only that, play for the Cowboys. And you winning 11, 12 games a year and you still saying that's not enough? And he don't even play defense? There's not that many teams in the NFL that even have a quarterback like that," said an incredulous Harris.

It feels shocking that Prescott would get more hate by his own fan base than someone like Deshaun Watson. Regardless, this kind of criticism towards quarterbacks isn't new for the Steelers and the Cowboys (who have a very long history). The two teams battled it out for several decades, from the 1970s-1990s, to be at the top of the league. Both teams always expect excellence.

One thing that the Steelers and Cowboys have in common is hate from other fan bases because Pittsburgh has dominated the NFL for so many years. It is very similar to how people got sick of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots winning so much. Folks hated Brady, even if they have respect for what he did on-field, and would maybe have donated a kidney to have him as their quarterback. 

The Cowboys have also struggled for years to win where he counts, the playoffs. Sound familiar? And fans are frustrated and looking for someone to blame. While the Cowboys certainly fall short when it matters most, those playoff losses are not entirely on Prescott. The coaches want to get the ball in Prescott's hands and hope he can do what he has done so many times, win games. Therefore, he throws the ball a lot more, which unfortunately leads to more opportunities for turnovers. 

On top of all that, they recently had an embarrassing playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, 48-32, and frankly, it wasn't that close. The Cowboys got outright embarrassed by the Packers. While Prescott was far from perfect, the whole team looked awful. It was the defense that cost them that game. The Cowboys were down 27-0 before they got a single point on the board. 

Steelers' Najee Harris Can Certainly Understand Quarterback Controversy

While Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett hasn't been with the team nearly as long as Prescott has been with the Cowboys, his time in Pittsburgh has been a controversial one. From the second he was drafted with a first-round pick in 2022, a huge chunk of the fan base began to complain. 

This isn't the normal kind of complaining, the "you can't please everyone stuff." This is outright disgust over the choice. Pickett played for the University of Pittsburgh and that meant the organization was quite familiar with him. But it also meant that those fans who aren't Pitt supporters felt that it was a "homer" pick. 

The venom spewed at Pickett has only gotten worse as he has gone through some struggles to find his footing in the league and suffered some injuries. Pickett's one saving grace with the fans was that most felt the majority of the blame belonged with former Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada. 

When Canada was fired after a humiliating loss to the Cleveland Browns during Week 11, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We would finally get to see what Pickett had under a new coordinator. We were given exactly one game, which he played well in and the Steelers won, before he was hurt and didn't start the remainder of the season.

The issue was further complicated by the success of longtime backup, Mason Rudolph. Now the Steelers are in a quandary at quarterback. Do they try to keep Rudolph? There are reports he is ready for a fresh start. Do they give Pickett another season? Most former NFL quarterbacks and coaches have said three seasons is the magic number for evaluation. Do they scrap both of them and look for a free agent, or someone via the NFL Draft? 

Do you agree that Prescott is the most hated player in the NFL? Click to comment below. 

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