Cowboys’ Dak Prescott locks in, shows NFL he’s physically back with play that set up winning field goal

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys‘ offense appeared stuck in the mud through the first three quarters of Week 2 against the New York Giants on Sunday. 

Then, the switch flipped, and the Cowboys prevailed in a thrilling 40-37 overtime victory. So what changed? Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott locked in and announced he is physically back. 

Prescott produced 361 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and an interception while completing 38 of his 52 passes (73.1%) in addition to 17 yards rushing on three carries. Fourteen of those 17 yards came on a 14-yard scramble that positioned All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey to nail the game-winning, 46-yard field goal as time expired in overtime. 

“I told you I can run. Rehab went well man. I think it’s from the way that I rehabbed,” Prescott said postgame. “Last year not running took a toll and honestly why I got hurt. I wasn’t running and then in one game, I decided to start running, and my body wasn’t ready for it. That’s where that injury came from. From this whole offseason recovery process, it was about getting back to who I am, my game, and understanding how much my legs are a part of my game. In a moment like that being able to bring them out and use them to seal the win was awesome. I feel great, I feel healthy and just thank God that I am.”

“Yeah, he’s the first to tell you how athletic he is. I say you’re over 30, so let’s limit it,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said postgame. “But again, it was a hell of a play, and I didn’t know how far he was going to go, but the thing that I loved is he hasn’t forgotten how to slide. That was cool. I think I’d give him an A, maybe A- on the slide.”

He didn’t just need his legs to run the ball, he needed them to evade the relentless pressure provided by Giants Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns (five quarterback pressures), former top five pick edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (five quarterback pressures), 2025 third overall pick edge rusher Abdul Carter (four quarterback pressures), linebacker Bobby Okereke (three quarterback pressures) and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (three quarterback pressures). As a team overall, the Giants pressured Prescott 20 times on 57 dropbacks. 

“One is pre snap. There’s certain looks from film study, your preparation, that you realize ‘oh this is a look that pressure may come.’ So that’s where it starts. And then like you said, as the game goes, it’s just a feel thing,” Prescott said of his ability to mostly evade the Giants’ pass rush. ” And you understand in this league, you don’t pass against the coverage as much as you pass against the pass rush, and that’s what the time clocks are based off of. When they are blitzing, there’s windows and when you’ve got receivers like CeeDee (Lamb) and George (Pickens) and Ferg (Jake Ferguson), guys who can get open, I feel like we have the advantage. So when they blitz the trust goes up, confidence goes up and it’s just something that we’ve been really good at. We have to continue to grow at that. Bring the pressure if you want. I dare you.”

It took until the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon, but once Prescott got the hang of what the Giants were showing him through three quarters, he lit them up. He totaled 229 of his 361 yards across the fourth quarterback and overtime while throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to new Dallas wide receiver George Pickens. 

“His resilience, the aura, it reeks in the huddle. We understand that we know we got [No.] 4 as far as willing to step up in these situations? Who else is willing to step up with him and us as a team?” Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said postgame. “What nine other guys because I know I’m there. As a unit, we came together, and we won this game.”

But once the fourth quarter rolled around, it was bread and butter time: Prescott throwing to Lamb and Pickens.  After a career-high four drops in Week 1 at the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamb was much more sure-handed on Sunday: he caught 9 of his 11 targets for 112 yards. He caught all six of his targets across the fourth quarter and overtime for 75 yards. 

“You got to get aggressive. Use who you have as your outside pieces,” Lamb said. “They were doubling me all game, and we had to take a step back and understand that. After we came out and threw the pick in the second half, we made an adjustment and then the rest is history. … I felt like I was myself again. Once we hit the fourth quarter, I knew it was my time to turn up.”

It was also Pickens’ time. He was targeted just four times in his Cowboys debut, catching three passes for 30 yards. On Sunday, Prescott went his way nine times, and he caught five passes for 68 yards, including a six-yard touchdown to take a 34-30 lead with 52 seconds left in regulation. Pickens also drew a couple pass interference penalties as well. 

“They keep pass [interfering with him]. We can get better. Me and CeeDee can get better, all of us can get better. That’s the standard, and I’ll hold us all to that in a sense. We’re never going to say that we made it or that we’re complacent in our relationship and there’s no room for improvement. So, we can definitely improve more, but I think that touchdown at the end of regulation, before they got their last little heave, was a prime example of the trust putting that ball right there on the front pylon,” Prescott said of Pickens. “I know he’s going to run a great route and coming out of it in the overtime with the catch right across the middle. He had to go a little early, pull away and make the catch. He’s continuing to grow in the right direction and [I’m] proud of the work that he’s put in and the trust that we have in each other.”

“Super excited, super happy. It was definitely that time,” Pickens said of his TD postgame. … “Yeah, it’s definitely a relief. … It’s definitely for the team because I know we have the type of guys we have who can make special plays like today. 

“I know people will only see the highlights, but if you heard what he was saying in the huddle, I think that really just speaks to who he was as a man. He was just like y’all, keep going and keep going until we make it home,” Smith said of Pickens postgame. “When the score wasn’t going our way, and we weren’t moving the ball the way we were supposed to, he was pushing us to keep going every single play, and I appreciate that as a man and as a brother.”  

Pickens about if the second-half breakout across the board for Dallas’ passing game can be duplicated. Before he could answer, Lamb, who was sitting one locker over, yelled with a wide smile, “It’s that time.”

“Happy for him man. Happy he’s here, and it showed,” Lamb said. “He had his first touchdown, the first of many. He’s a heck of a player, and I’m excited to [see] what he’s going to bring to this team in the future. … You start to understand how much of a demon he really is. He can take over the game, and he’s ecstatic man, he’s electric. You give him an opportunity. He’s drawn like five PI’s [pass interference penalties this season], so do what you want with that information.”

Prescott didn’t process the information that he was on his way to winning his 14th consecutive start against the Giants, the second-longest winning streak against a single team since 1950. Only Hall of Famer Bob Griese’s 17-game winning streak against one of the Miami Dolphins‘ AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, is a longer stretch of success against a single team. When he sat down at his locker room following the overtime victory, he thought about extending his winning ways against the Giants. Prescott powering the Cowboys to wins in the clutch over NFC East division is a familiar, comforting sight for Dallas fans. He improved to 34-9 in his career, since 2016, against division opponents. That’s the second-most wins against his division among active NFL quarterbacks: only Kansas City Chiefs three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes (35 wins vs. the AFC West) has more. Dak is back. 

“Afterwards, I kind of realized it. I started walking in, and I said ’14 was hard,’” Prescott said. “That was tough to keep the streak going. It was tough, credit to them, that’s a great team over there. They made some plays. They battled. It’s not about someone having their number, it just worked out. I feel comfortable against these guys. When we go up to New York, it’s going to be another dog fight after this one. It’s how it’s been.”