EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A must-win game in Week 4? You bet it was. It is not an overreaction to have labeled the Dallas Cowboys matchup against the New York Giants as such, and while Dak Prescott and Co. all refrained from using that exact labeling heading into the game at MetLife Stadium, they pulled the veil off following their 20-1 victory in primetime.
As Prescott explained, it definitely lifted some, though not all, of the weight off of the collective chest of the Cowboys.
"It was huge," the All-Pro quarterback said. "After obviously losing two, especially at home, coming on the road, first division game — division wins are always tough. As I said, then you add on the road and before a long weekend, puts a better taste in our mouth."
The win ends a two-game slide that pushed the Cowboys to a 1-2 record to start the season, made that much more bitter by having not won at AT&T Stadium since Dec. 30 against the Detroit Lions, and they'll continue to look in the mirror for ways to improve.
Enjoying the win against the Giants is deserved, but it's also true that they struggled to put them away on several occasions. Keeping that in mind is key when looking at the onslaught of playoff-caliber teams they'll face over the next six weeks or more.
"At the end of the day, as I've said, even after those two losses the past two weeks, it's a process," Prescott added. "We're not going to get complacent. We're not going to get overexcited about what we've done [against NYG]. It's about building and it's about figuring out what we can do better in all phases, but it's a lot easier to do that with a win."
Prescott was a key catalyst to putting the Cowboys back in the win column on Thursday, surgical in his accuracy (81.5% — a season high) to go along with 221 passing yards and two touchdowns to no interceptions and a 125.5 passer rating.
The forecast for rain didn't hold true, but the fourcast for Rayne sure did.
It also led to CeeDee Lamb, who went from apoplectic in the loss against the Ravens to apologetic in the days that followed, torching the Giants in the first half to help the Cowboys get off to a rare fast start.
But when Prescott circles back to speaking on the team's need to continue to improve in taking a professional approach to the game, he's not singling anyone out. Instead, he's talking to the entire roster, including himself, demanding everyone lock in during every single rep of practice and for four entire quarters during games.
It is only then that the Cowboys can again be viewed as a Super Bowl contender.
"We've got to continue to be pros," said Prescott. "That's not done. That's not done when you get a win and that's my point about [how] we're not going to get overexcited, or hopefully the guys don't listen to anything that's being written about [them], good or bad. It's about focusing on this process.
"We were able to get a win tonight, and it puts us at 2-2, going into a long weekend, but we've got to go on the road next week against a good Steelers team who may be undefeated, right? Who may be undefeated when we play them, right? It's going to be in a tough environment."
As it stands, the Steelers are 3-0 and preparing to face the Indianapolis Colts with a shot at being 4-0 when they host the Cowboys in the Steel City in Week 5. The last time Prescott visited them, he and Ezekiel Elliott struck a death blow by way of a walkoff touchdown in 2016.
But that was then, and this is now.
"I haven't played there since my rookie year, so I'm looking forward to that," said Prescott. "That's really all that matters — is taking care of our bodies, being smart, healthy this weekend, and getting back at it Monday and being pros, continue to work, trust the process, trust one another, be accountable and go and put the best version of ourselves out there next Sunday."
Three words resonate the most in that quote: "continue to work".There is no other choice if this season is to have any meaning whatsoever when it's all said-and-done.
And here comes October in all of its fury.
