Dak Prescott Removes Any Doubt, Proves on Biggest Stage He's for Real

ARLINGTON, Texas — We're running out of praise. We're running out of things to say. We're running out of compliments. This is starting to get ridiculous.

Even LeBron James is getting in on the Dak Prescott blitzkrieg of constant astonishment:

Even phony Cowboys fan LeBron James is amazed.

This time, Prescott dueled Kirk Cousins, in a 31-26 Dallas win at AT&T Stadium, and Cousins is as hot as any thrower in football, and will soon see a truckload of cash dumped on his front yard. But not even a blazing Cousins could stop Prescott.

We saw typical Prescott in one series of exemplary plays in the fourth quarter. It was 3rd-and-long and when Prescott dropped back, no one was open. So Prescott did what he's done all year, which is display an uncanny football IQ for a rookie. This time, he tucked the ball away and ran.

Not only did Prescott get the first down, but he drew a late hit penalty on Washington's Donte Whitner. Prescott's decision to run seems simple, but so many rookies, across so many decades, faced with similar circumstances, threw an interception or were too scared to run.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Later in that drive came another indicator of Prescott's poise. Washington put a spy on Prescott and forced the quarterback to scramble right. Prescott again showed the calm of a Federation captain under fire, bounced to the outside and hit Dez Bryant deep (scary thing for future Dallas playoff opponents is that Bryant is starting to become the old Bryant again). The Cowboys scored on that drive and a threat from Washington was avoided.

Rookie quarterbacks don't do this. They don't ever, ever, ever do this.

"Over and over and over, he made big plays for us," said coach Jason Garrett.

Garrett is running out of ways to describe his quarterback, too.

The accolades used to describe Prescott are running so short, we may need to invent a new language to describe what Rayne Dakota Prescott is doing.

Cousins had over 400 yards passing, and still, this was Prescott's game. This is the best rivalry in football, and still, Prescott's coolness dominated it. The only thing Prescott didn't overshadow Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday itself. Hell, the way he's going, in a few years there may be a Dak Prescott Day in Texas.

It's not accurate, of course, to say Prescott and Cousins dueled directly. But in practical terms, that's sort of what happened. Cousins was spectacular, constantly applying pressure to Prescott and the offense, and Prescott responded at every turn.

Push, pull. Punch, counterpunch. Usually rookies melt under this kind of pressure, but Prescott didn't. He never does.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

We keep looking for those words to describe him, and they are running low because he's smashing rookie walls the way Hulk does tanks.

There was, however, something slightly different about this Prescott moment than others, and it goes back to the way Prescott eats pressure for dinner. As Dallas built its 10-1 record, some of the opponents weren't the best quality, and the stage wasn't all that large. Washington was different and the stage was different. Both the opponent and the moment were the biggest of his rookie season.

It didn't matter. Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott were still good.

Prescott finished 17-of-24 for 195 yards and a touchdown pass. He added 39 rushing yards and another score. He completed six of his seven passes in the fourth quarter, and he's completed 25-of-28 fourth-quarter passes over the past four games, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. 

Prescott has a chance to get even better because we're starting to see Bryant emerge as a star again. So is Bryant's ability to trash talk. As he walked into the locker room, Bryant told reporters: "Better tell Washington to get their money back." In the locker room afterward, Bryant said of Norman: "I wore his ass out all game."

At his official press conference, Bryant called Norman "soft."

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

Oh my.

Well, Bryant isn't wrong. He also wasn't done. He told Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan, again speaking of Norman: "He's gonna do that on the field, but I promise you if we were somewhere else like in my backyard where nobody would find out, I'd beat him up so bad I promise you he gonna snitch."

Bryant is approaching beastiness again, and this will only make Prescott better.

Prescott after the game was, um, a lot more calm, just as he is on the field. Even-keeled, just as he is in the game. He speaks softy, doesn't say much. That's just how he wants it and fits with his on-field persona of coolness and efficiency.

Yes, it's true, we're running out of praise. We're running out of things to say. We're running out of ways to describe Prescott.

We had better get used to it.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.