Dak Prescott, Cowboys bounce back against Buccaneers
ARLINGTON, Texas – Relax, Dallas. Dak is back.
After a week of second-guessing, talk-show debate and an increased layer of scrutiny regarding his high-profile job, Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott shook it all off and rebounded with a sharp, efficient performance that keyed a 26-20 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.
It helped that fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott brought his A-game, too.
Elliott, the league’s leading rusher, ran 23 times for 159 yards, including a 2-yard TD run, as the Cowboys employed the ball-hogging formula that has been their M.O. for the bulk of the season.
This, while the other young quarterback on display, Jameis Winston, was derailed by four turnovers. Winston’s fumble as he absorbed a blind-side hit in the second quarter led to Elliott’s score. His overthrown interception in the fourth quarter set up Dan Bailey’s go-ahead field goal.
And Winston’s final pass of the night, on fourth down of a final desperation drive, was intercepted by Orlando Scandrick.
Prescott, meanwhile, completed 32 of 36 passes for 280 yards – with no turnovers.
“One of the words we talked about right from the outset this week was ‘response,’ ” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said to the AP. “We did a good job early in the ballgame to get a lead and they started throwing the ball a lot early in the second half and they went ahead.
“And again, that word ‘response’ came back to the forefront.”
The victory allowed Dallas (12-2), which has already clinched a playoff berth, to inch closer to sealing the NFC East title. The Cowboys also maintained their position atop the NFC in the race for the No. 1 seed, but they would have held that even with a loss.
The Bucs (8-6) had their NFL-best winning streak snapped at five games and fell behind Washington (7-5-1) for the sixth and final NFC playoff seed.
“We’ve just got to keep winning, see how it plays out,” Winston said to the AP. “I know I’m going to keep fighting. I’m not worried about not fighting. We just got to keep winning games.”
Beyond the impact on the playoff picture, there was a statement to be demonstrated with Prescott coming off his worst game of the season a week earlier in the loss at the New York Giants – which fueled the flames of controversy amid speculation that the Cowboys would bench the rookie and give the job back to Tony Romo.
At one point last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responded to a question about the possibility of switching quarterbacks by referencing a famous phrase once used by a Supreme Court justice about pornography, saying, “You’ll know it when you see it.”
They didn’t see it on Sunday night. Prescott started in a rhythm, completing his first nine passes, and the rest of the operation followed suit as Dallas built a 17-3 lead that forced the Bucs to play catch-up.
For the moment, at least, order has been restored in Big D.
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 15