FRISCO, Texas – What could Marcus Peters do?
On first-and-10 in the final minute of the first half Sunday, Dak Prescott saw open field scrambling to his right. Terrance Williams had open space downfield near the sideline.
Peters, the Kansas City Chiefs' cornerback, was stuck in the middle.
Just before Prescott crossed the line of scrimmage, he sailed the ball over Peters' head for a 56-yard gain.
That's the challenge of defending the Cowboys' second-year quarterback: He can win with his arm or his feet.
"He makes big plays with his feet by simply running, running for yards, running for first downs and running for touchdowns," head coach Jason Garrett said. "But he also does a good job of moving the pocket, extending plays and keeping his eyes down the field and making plays with his arm."
Two plays after his deep pass to Williams, Prescott was in the end zone. In shotgun formation on third-and-10 from the Chiefs' 10-yard line, he sensed pressure to his right, took off, avoided a tackle attempt at his feet, kept his balance and ran for the Cowboys' second touchdown in an eventual 28-17 victory.
It was Prescott's 10th career rushing touchdown, the most by any NFL quarterback in the last two seasons. He broke a tie with Don Meredith for the second-most games in team history (five) with at least two passing touchdowns and at least one rushing touchdown, trailing only Roger Staubach (six).
And, some more impressive company: With 39 career passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns, Prescott joins Cam Newton as only the second quarterback in NFL history with at least 35 passing scores and at least 10 rushing scores through his first two seasons.
Prescott's versatility as a passer and runner has helped the Cowboys score at least 28 points in six straight games for the first time in 10 years.
"That's a big part of this position, you make those kinds of plays," Garrett said. "Most of the game is played within the system, but oftentimes at critical moments things break down and you have to keep the play alive. He's certainly able to do that."
The presence of the run game – designed runs to Ezekiel Elliott, read-option plays with Prescott and Elliott, or simply Prescott's scrambling ability – makes the Cowboys a viable red zone threat. They scored touchdowns on all four of their trips inside the 20 against the Chiefs. On their opening score, Prescott faked a handoff to Elliott out of the shotgun and hit Cole Beasley over the middle for a 6-yard touchdown.
In this three-game win streak, the offense is arguably playing as well as any point last season, when the team won 13 games and clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC. Once again, Prescott is at the center of it all.
"I said it a couple weeks ago -- even with some losses earlier in the year, we were headed in the right direction," he said. "We were getting to where we want to be. We're still not there yet. Three wins later, we are still growing and we still have a lot we want to do and get better at, but we are getting a lot more comfortable within ourselves and within our system."
