FRISCO, Texas — For all intents and purposes, the playoffs began for the Dallas Cowboys the moment they exited their Week 10 bye to take on the Las Vegas Raiders, owners of a 3-5-1 record at the time. They've since rattled off three consecutive wins in a 10-day span, defeating the last two Super Bowl winners in the process, but Dak Prescott is channeling his inner Kobe Bryant:
Job done? Job's not done.
"It's about us really just controlling what we can control, winning the games in front of us and, right now, I don't think we're in a position where we truly have to count wins and losses from other teams," said the All-Pro quarterback. "We just win and handle our business, and we'll put ourselves in a great spot."
Sitting at 6-5-1 heading into Week 14, their next opponent is a familiar one, and one that also views the upcoming contest as a must-win, playoff-level matchup: Dan Campbell and the very same Detroit Lions who thumped the Cowboys last season to the tune of 47-9 at AT&T Stadium.
It's a gritty, physical bunch that takes on the identity of Campbell, and Prescott knows exactly what he and the Cowboys are up against when they march into Ford Field on Thursday for football under the bright lights, and with the proverbial heat that accompanies them — Prescott relishing the next exam to come.
"Yeah, it's fun," he said. "It's what you play the game for — real competitors. They take the spirit of their head coach. You can tell that they play with it. … We got the better of them [in 2023] and they got the best end of us last year, and that was not a pretty game, so I'm definitely looking forward to just getting back out there, going to Detroit having the group that we have; and having to communicate in such a tough environment, but understanding we got to play physical.
"It's going to be a four-quarter fight."
That much is as certain as death and taxes, seeing as Campbell seemingly has a perpetual ax to grind against his a team he once suited up for in the early 2000s. Maybe there will be 27 instances of Dan Skipper being declared an eligible receiver, or maybe not, but the Lions, losers of three of their last five, are suddenly 7-5 after a 6-2 start, and won't leave anything on the field or in the playbook against the Cowboys.
That means Prescott and his compatriots will need to beat them to the punch with physicality, execution, and play-calling — every game remaining on their schedule being one they absolutely have to have in their pocket to end the regular season, that is if they want to have a shot at shocking the world and earning a way into the postseason after such an ice-cold start to this campaign.
"[We have] a lot of confidence, but with a great understanding of what's behind us," Prescott explained. "What's important is this game and the way that we prepare for it. What's been done is done. All we can take from those last games are the experience and the confidence, and that's what we're going to roll into this one with.
"It's another good team, a playoff team, and understanding where they are in their season — trying to control everything that's in front of them. So plan for it to be a hard-fought, four-quarter game."
Having gotten off to a slow start in both of their last two games, overcoming those deficits against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively, Prescott has a point: it's never over until it's over, but the Lions know that as well.
