Cowboys twice as nice with QBs Romo and Prescott in preseason win

Tony Romo is just fine by the way.

Playing his first game since fracturing his collarbone for the second time last Thanksgiving, resulting in off-season shoulder surgery, the 13-year veteran quarterback completed 4 of 5 passes for 49 yards and had quarterback rating of 107.5 in two series in the Dallas Cowboys’ 41-14 preseason victory against the Miami Dolphins on Friday night at AT&T Stadium.

Romo led the offense on a 72-yard touchdown drive, capped by Alfred Morris’ 15-yard touchdown.

The man considered the key to any hopes the Cowboys have of bouncing back from last season’s 4-12 season with a playoff run this season got out of harms way and sat for the rest of the night.

Ordinarily, Romo’s flawless performance would carry the day for the Cowboys in their second preseason game.

But the exit of the 36-year Romo only set the stage for the second breakout performance by Dak Prescott.

The rookie fourth-round pick from Mississippi State not only upstaged Romo, but has all but rendered the need for a veteran backup quarterback moot.

You don’t even need an official declaration from owner Jerry Jones after watching Prescott follow last week’s sizzling performance against the Los Angeles Rams when he completed 10 of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns by hitting his first eight passes against the Dolphins en route to another near flawless outing.

He competed 12 of 15 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns passing to go along with three carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns.

“I don’t want to get in those discusions right now,” coach Jason Garrett said about Prescott and the backup quarterback job. “He has certainly done a good job with the opportunities he has gotten. He made some plays. He made some plays with his arm and his feet. The things that impresses us most is his poise and composure and how he handled different situations in the game. He has the right mentality and he has grown every day.”

Prescott tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant and scored on a 20-yard run on his first two drives.

He led the offense to two field goals on his next two drives, helping the Cowboys to a 27-14 halftime lead.

“He’s done a great job. It’s been a great start for him, and he’s excited about it,” Romo said about Prescott. “You just keep building on it everyday, but you can’t ask for a better start.”

But his magical night was far from done. Prescott opened the second half with a 58-yard completion to receiver Brice Butler before tossing a 1-yard touchdown to Butler. He then added a 1-yard touchdown run.

When Prescott exited with 4:35 left third quarter, had had the fans at AT&T excited about the Cowboys not only finally having a young quarterback to develop for the future, but a backup quarterback who could possibly win games in Romo’s absence.

The latter was certainly as issue in 2015 when Romo missed 12 games and the Cowboys won only one of those contests.

It’s also why his return to health was the biggest story of the off-season.

After sitting out last week’s preseason opener, Romo proved that he was healthy and ready to go in his brief appearance Friday night.

“I thought Tony was just outstanding really,” Jones said. Thought that he was so assured in what he wanted to do. I never thought, it looked like it almost was a mistake when he didn’t make the play, and so felt good to see him out there and taking those snaps.

The opening drive was marred by three holding penalties against the Cowboys the first five times they snapped the ball.

That drive ended on a dropped pass from Morris on third down or Romo might have been perfect for the night.

He opened his second series with an 18-yard dart to Bryant. He followed with two completions of 12 yards to tight end Jason Witten before Morris’ touchdown run.

Romo said it felt good to play again for the first time in 267 days and also take a hit.

“It always feels great,” Romo said. “It’s always good to brush that off. You kind of take it and you get up and you keep going.”

If not for Prescott , Morris would also have been a headliner on Friday. A free-agent pick up from the Washington Redskins, Morris started in place of the injured fourth-overall pick Ezekiel Elliott and showed he still has a lot left in the tank.

He had 12 carries for 85 yards, including the touchdown.

“They did a great job of getting their guys and making a clear read for me. It was easy for me to be patient because they kept them dead on the line of scrimmage,” Morris said. “It makes it easy when our guys win at the line. It was impressive because they also got the linebackers to commit.”

But this night was all about Prescott, who came to the Cowboys as a developmental quarterback from a zone-read offense in college, but has shown since the beginning that this stage was not too big him.

He was not fazed when he replaced Romo with the first-team offense, as evidence by his touchdown pass to Bryant on a drive that began at the Cowboys’ 5-yard line.

The second drive, playing largely with backups up front and at receiver, was initially set back by his first big mistake. But an interception by cornerback Isa Abdul-Quddus was negated by a roughing the passer penalty.

A 20-yard touchdown run by Morris was called back because of an illegal formation and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Butler was erased by offensive pass interference.

So on third and 10, Prescott took it to the house himself.

Consider that Prescott completed 22 of 27 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns with two more touchdowns on the ground in his first two preseason games. His combined quarterback rating is a sizzling 156.4.

“I feel great,” Prescott said. “I’m very confident in myself. That hasn’t changed from the moment I was drafted.

“My mindset is to come in each and every day and do the best I can.”

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This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Cowboys twice as nice with QBs Romo and Prescott in preseason win."