Prescott rebounds with ‘statement game’ in Cowboys’ wild-card win –

TAMPA, Fla. — As Dak Prescott jogged off the Raymond James Stadium field Monday, there was no great exuberant cheer by the quarterback. He simply waved to the Dallas Cowboys fans crowding the tunnel to the locker room and casually tossed his hat into the stands.

Prescott was acting like what he just accomplished in the Cowboys’ 31-14 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was no big deal.

Except it was a big deal.

Eight days earlier against the Washington Commanders, Prescott had what might have been the worst game of his career. He completed just 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards in a 26-6 loss. He was intercepted for the seventh straight game and had a pick-six for the third time in four games.

On Monday, Prescott had a game for the ages.

He threw for 305 yards, completing 25 of 33 passes with four touchdown passes and, perhaps more importantly, he was not intercepted. He also ran for a touchdown.

“I got away from the way I play this game,” Prescott said of his Week 18 performance. “I got greedy, tried to just force some throws, tried to take the big ones — and that’s not who I’ve been throughout my career; taking what they give me, waiting on the big shot. I think it was uncharacteristic. … But I wiped that clean and I knew what this game meant. I knew how important it was for us.”

How good was he against the Buccaneers?

“I mean, as good as I’ve seen,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s for sure.”

McCarthy coached Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl with Rodgers.

How good was Prescott? He joined Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach as the only Cowboys quarterbacks with four touchdown passes in a playoff game. Like Prescott, Aikman’s also came without an interception in his Super Bowl XXVII performance against the Buffalo Bills….