He settled for a four-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It was a precise throw to Tolbert in the short corner of the end zone that hit the ideal path out at the perfect time. But that may not have even been Prescott’s decisive play on the 15-play, 70-yard drive. The Cowboys (3-2) never would have had a chance at fourth-down drama if their undisputed leader hadn’t dove headfirst onto the turf two plays earlier to catch a Rico Dowdle fumble. The football was knocked out as the running back – who had a career-high 87 rushing yards – tried to jump over the pile from the one-yard line.

Instincts took over.

“They always make it a point to follow the ball,” Prescott said. “This is the reason for this more than ever. They’re just real-world examples that keep coming up.”

Prescott passed for 352 yards, which is the kind of big number you would associate with a quarterback who needs to test a team that was missing two strong players, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, on a beleaguered defense. He’s also missing a starting receiver as Brandin Cooks is expected to miss at least a month with a knee infection. And the running game was so suspect, so Dowdle’s big night and the fact that Dallas recorded 31 rushes gave some hope.

But Prescott, who completed 29 of 42 passes, wasn’t sure. He was nearly flawless on a 16-play, 90-yard drive that he capped with a 22-yard pass to Dowdle early in the fourth quarter, then came back on the next drive with a throw to the pickoff line. Wanted to bring Porter back. On the other hand, it is a team game. The Cowboys had the opportunity to short themselves out. The two red zone turnovers came on a night in which they committed 11 penalties for 87 yards.