‘Poised’ Dak Prescott giddy following first NFL win

Dak Prescott wanted to scream and jump up and down after the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 27-23 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

What else would you expect from a 23-year-old rookie quarterback who just won his first NFL game?

“It was just excitement,” Prescott said. “I was just excited to get that first win.”

Prescott continued to impress in his second career game. He showed the poise that everyone within the organization has praised since Day One, and handled every situation thrown his way well.

Prescott went 22-of-30 passing for 292 yards with no interceptions and had a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave the Cowboys a 20-17 lead.

His best moments were in the fourth quarter, though. In what proved to be the game-winning touchdown drive, Prescott completed 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards. He found Cole Beasley for a 12-yard gain on a third-and-11 to keep the drive alive.

On the Cowboys’ last offensive drive, Prescott made a heady play by taking a sack on third down and forcing the Redskins to burn their final timeout with 1:40 left.

“He did an outstanding job in that situation, but really throughout the game,” coach Jason Garrett said. “A number of different things came up throughout the game and he just handles it with poise and composure. He gives us a chance to execute on ball plays because the demeanor that he plays with is infectious throughout our team.”

Much like in the season-opening loss against the New York Giants, Prescott spread the ball around, completing passes to seven receivers. He also involved standout receiver Dez Bryant more, connecting on seven passes for 102 yards.

“He’s filling in some big shoes and he’s doing a damn good job,” Bryant said. “We’ve just got to continue being there for him. If we’re there for him, he’s going to make plays and the guy is going to continue to keep being great.”

The Cowboys went 1-11 without starting quarterback Tony Romo a year ago, but are now 1-1 with Prescott.

Prescott hasn’t played or carried himself like a rookie, something that has gained him much respect in the locker room.

“I really believe guys are confident in him,” tight end Jason Witten said. “He doesn’t turn the ball over. He is good on the edge. That’s a big win for him.

“He shouldn’t feel he has the weight on him, but to play the position there are high expectations. I think he did a really good job coming on the road and getting a win.”

Aggressive JG

Garrett showed an aggressive side that hasn’t been seen much in his tenure.

It paid off once by going for it on fourth down, and didn’t another time on an onside kick.

“That’s just the way we want to play; we want to be aggressive and we want to be downhill,” Garrett said. “That applies to players, that applies to coaches and to all phases on our team.”

On the Cowboys’ second offensive series of the game, they faced a fourth-and-1 from the Redskins’ 30. Instead of attempting a 47-yard field goal, the Cowboys executed a perfect play in which Dak Prescott found a wide open Geoff Swaim for a 28-yard gain.

Three plays later, the Cowboys scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott.

Garrett kept his gambling ways in the second half, too, attempting an onside kick after the Cowboys had taken a 20-17 lead. That didn’t go as planned, though, as Dan Bailey’s kick didn’t travel 10 yards and Barry Church drew an illegal touching penalty.

“They had success coming out in the second half, so I just wanted to change it,” Garrett said. “We were doing a good job offensively, we stole a possession right there, Dan is so good at those kinds of plays, so we wanted to give him a chance. Unfortunately it didn’t go far enough.”

Struggling Scandrick

Cornerback Orlando Scandrick didn’t mince words in assessing his play after two games.

“I’m playing like [expletive],” Scandrick said. “I don’t really know what to say.”

Scandrick was beaten for a touchdown on the Redskins’ opening drive of the second half, as Kirk Cousins hit Jamison Crowder for an 11-yard score.

In the season opener, Scandrick was beaten three times for 66 yards, according to STATS, Inc.

Scandrick has been dealing with a hamstring injury of late and was listed as questionable going into Sunday’s game. He missed all of last season after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn medial cruciate ligament and torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

“Yeah, but nobody cares at the end of the day,” Scandrick said of his injuries. “It’s did you win or did you not? So I don’t know what to say.

“It’s very frustrating. I’m not playing good football right now.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 7:42 PM with the headline "‘Poised’ Dak Prescott giddy following first NFL win."