OXNARD, Calif. – Dak Prescott still remembers the play 360 days ago.
Three wide, one back, early second quarter, first-and-10 from the L.A. Rams' 32-yard line. He hit wide receiver Terrance Williams on the run just inside the left end zone pylon for his second touchdown of the game.
It was his first NFL game.
It was just the beginning.
"I want to say I got hit as I was throwing it," Prescott recalled. "I was trying to figure out if he caught it or not and then you hear everybody scream. I don't know, it just sticks out. Usually the touchdowns stick out more than the incompletions."
Prescott didn't have many in last year's debut: two, in fact, both receiver drops. His passer rating was a near-perfect 154.5.
Three hundred and sixty days later, Prescott is set to return to the L.A. Coliseum for another preseason game against the Rams.
He's in a much different position.
He's not a fourth-round rookie trying to prove he can be a capable backup.
He's the franchise quarterback for America's Team.
"I think it (that game) was important," he said after Tuesday's practice here in Oxnard. "I think it showed some significance in the fact it was the first game experience they got to see me play with the offense. I mean, I had plenty of scrimmages and live reps out here, but the first game experience with the crowd, a huge crowd out there in the Coliseum, it was a pretty good performance and I think it gave them confidence in believing in me and pushing further."
Prescott would become the full-time starter only two weeks later when Tony Romo fractured a bone in his back against the Seattle Seahawks. The rest is well-known by now: Prescott started all 16 games, leading the Cowboys to a franchise-record tying 13 wins, and won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Romo has moved on to the broadcasting world. It's Prescott's huddle.
"Obviously, he did a really good job for us last year as our quarterback," head coach Jason Garrett said. "He worked very hard in the offseason to get himself ready for training camp, he certainly made strides in all areas of the game, and he'll continue to do that.
Tuesday, Garrett and Prescott didn't speculate on how many snaps the second-year starter might get against the Rams.
He's approaching this game, and this season, the same way as he did last year, when he opened camp fighting for third-team reps.
"I treat every practice as if it's a game, preparing for it, trying to make every throw, trying to make the right decision," he said.
"My focus no matter what year I'm in is just always to get better, find a way to get better. It doesn't matter if it's out on the field or if it's the film room, if it's in the weight room, whatever it is."
