ARLINGTON, Texas 鈥 After a disappointing showing in Carolina last week where the offense felt like they missed opportunities late in the game, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys' offense led the way to a 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders.
Prescott, who completed 21 of his 30 passing attempts for 264 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, enjoyed every second of it.
"It was great. It was explosive. It was fun," Prescott said. "You saw the big plays; saw some drives we put together. Our standard expectations for ourselves is very high. We understand we've got guys that, the playmakers that we have, the offensive line, the love that we have for one another, and you see it just the way that guys finish plays, guys cover the ball and defense played very well tonight."
"When you do that, I think more of our games are going to look like this."
Dallas' offense got two of it's most dymanic skill players back in CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin, as well as their starting right guard Tyler Booker back on the offensive line. Once again, the Cowboys finished with more than 400 total yards of offense after coming into the game as the league leader in offensive yards per game.
Lamb and his counterpart, George Pickens, combined for 192 receiving yards and a touchdown. What's the next level that the Cowboys' offense can go to with that trio leading the way?
"The next game," Prescott said. "That's what's important for us and to us. And honestly, it's Wednesday practice being, just being truthful. Those guys aren't by any means complacent or great and settled with what they've done. They want the ball. They have high expectations. We have high expectations for each other鈥 Who knows what we can accomplish? The sky is the limit."
Over the course of his career, Prescott has had a lot of good skill talent around him. Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Amari Cooper, just to name a few. It's this group though that he's having the most fun playing with.
"I don't know if I have," Prescott said when asked if this is the most fun he's had with an offensive unit in his career. "Not a knock to any other group that I've been a part of, but the chemistry, the comradery, the trash talking, the emotions and passions of this unit, it's there as much as I've ever seen it. Sure, we've got some youth that's probably a big part of it, but we've got guys who just work their tails off every day.
"I say it all the time, confidence is earned. You don't just wake up and say, 'Yeah, I know I can do this.' No, you got to go do that. Prove it to yourself. And then, you feel good about talking about it and walking the walk. This group practices the right way, and they've earned the confidence, and they go out there and we play with it. And it's fun, It really is fun."
Over the course of his last four games, Prescott has thrown 13 touchdowns and has not been intercepted. What is he more proud of: The touchdowns, or lack of turnovers?
"Probably the interceptions being true," Prescott said. "I couldn't even have told you that's how many [touchdowns] it was, but I could tell you that I hadn't thrown an interception. So just trying to be smart with it, but not hesitant or scared or cautious at the same time. Taking my chances. I've got tons of confidence in what I can do, where I can put it, and obviously the guys that I'm throwing it to, so that's just a result of that."
Going into Sunday afternoon, the Cowboys had played in four one-possession ball games and came out on the winning end of just one of them. Their win over the Commanders wasn't close, but it does give Prescott the confidence that he and the offense can find a way to close games out in the fourth quarter and come out on top.
"We're going to keep fighting," Prescott said. "As I alluded to last, we're going to find a way to win some of these close games. I know this one wasn't necessarily in the fourth quarter going back and forth, but that's the difference. We're going to win some games like this, but when we flip this switch and we win those close games, a resilient group that loves one another, that's going to stick together and is explosive. We're going to play complimentary ball more and more each week."
The Cowboys now sit at 3-3-1 for this season, and 2-1 in the NFC East to put them at second place in the division. Obviously, the Cowboys would like to have a few more wins under their belt. Still thought, Prescott says the group should be encouraged about the trajectory of the season given how they played Sunday night.
"We're in a good spot. We're right where we need to be," Prescott said. "Playing a game like this that was so complimentary on both sides of the ball, I don't know how anybody in that locker room can't have confidence and excited to get to work tomorrow."
The work tomorrow will begin the preparation for Dallas' third road game in the last four weeks against the Denver Broncos, who against the Giants scored the most points in NFL history in a single quarter after being shut out the previous three quarters (33). They also have one of the league's best defenses, which features the 2024 defensive player of the year in Patrick Surtain and a strong pass rushing unit.
