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"That's on me," Prescott said.
Before that, Prescott missed a wide-open Dez Bryant in the end zone.
In a mostly forgettable game where the Giants looked outclassed and rudderless on offense without Odell Beckham, one of the bigger stories was: Would there be a sophomore slump for Prescott?
It looked like he might stumble, and he did, a little, but then Prescott did what he always does. He's adaptable, possesses a calculator for a brain and he develops in real time. He picked up what the Giants were doing. Adjusted to their pressure. Got more patient.
Prescott this game was what Prescott was last year: steady heartbeat with flashes of adrenaline and Staubach.
He wasn't great. After all, this Giants defense might be one of the top two or three in football, and an argument can be made it's the best. They make a lot of quarterbacks look average.
But Prescott pressed on and on. If there is one major thing the Cowboys can cross off the list after this game, it's any worry that Prescott might take a step back.
The 19-3 Dallas victory over the Beckham-less Giants at AT&T Stadium showed that last season was no fluke for Prescott. It's just one game, sure, but his performance was a continuation of the Prescott way: heady play matched with bursts of skill.
As you looked across the NFL landscape Sunday, it was a day of absolutely awful quarterback play. Andy Dalton threw four interceptions and fumbled—the Ryan Leaf special. Scott Tolzien looked like J.R.R. Tolkien. Carson Palmer looks so done a meat thermometer popped on his forehead. Then, two words: the Jets. On and on it went.
It's obvious how important quarterback play is. What's not always obvious is how horrible quarterback play can wreck the play of an entire team.
Not making a bevy of mental errors is one of Prescott's greatest gifts. The other is how quickly he learns. We saw this repeatedly against the Giants. There was one good example in the fourth quarter.
Prescott rolled right and looked downfield. No one was open. Now, some other quarterbacks, like Tolzien Dalton Bortles, would have forced a pass downfield when nothing was there or tossed the football across his backside. Or held on to the ball too long and gotten sacked.
Prescott did none of those things. He took a few more steps and threw a safe bullet to Jason Witten—low, in a spot where only Witten could get it.
These plays are simple. They aren't spectacular. But they are necessary and the diet of smart quarterbacks.
There are other reasons why the Cowboys won (and win). That defense is solid and Ezekiel Elliott is special. That offensive line is even more special, still. But Prescott is the engine.
There's a lot of Aaron Rodgers in Prescott. The most impressive part of all the good quarterbacks, and especially the great ones like Rodgers, is what's between their ears. They are able to balance aggression and playmaking with not turning the ball over.
"The best attribute of a quarterback is to be smart," he said briefly to B/R after the game. "I never want to put my team in a hole."
He rarely does.
"He's really good at controlling the game," said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.
Prescott was a solid 24-of-39 for 268 yards and one touchdown. The most important number: zero, for interceptions.
Prescott later on a touchdown pass to Witten set it up with a gorgeous play-action fake to Elliott. Prescott can pretty much do everything.
Move forward, push, don't screw up, make some good plays. That is the Prescott method, and it's a perfect one for this team.
Again, it's early, and a billion different scenarios could unfold this season. But when looking at Dallas' division hopes, it has a good chance of winning it, because the other quarterbacks in the NFC East lack stability. Kirk Cousins sometimes looks so awful you understand why Washington is so scared to give him a long-term deal. You don't know what you're going to get with Eli Manning. Carson Wentz is improving dramatically and will one day battle Prescott for dominance, but might still be a year away.
That leaves steady Dak. Solid Dak. Smart Dak.
It's all the Cowboys need.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.
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