FRISCO, Texas — Thanks to lessons learned from only seven days prior, the Dallas Cowboys found a way to right the sinking ship with no time to spare to defeat the Houston Texans in another 2026 battle that went to the very last second on the clock.
And now, only four days later, they'll have to find a way to wade through the emotional rollercoaster of the previous two games, including the gut-wrenching loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio, to try and keep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winless when they visit AT&T Stadium for Thursday Night Football.
Sore? Yes. Tired? Most likely. Do the Buccaneers care? Absolutely not.
"Oh, it's gonna be 100. It's gonna be 100," said All-Pro Dak Prescott when asked if the Cowboys will be ready in a short week after two emotionally and physically draining matchups. "That's how much I love this game, how much I put in this game throughout my life. Through the offseason, you prepare and you condition, and you do a lot of things for these types of moments.
"At the end of the day, you're getting to play the game that you're blessed to play, and that you're so fortunate to play, whether it be on a short week or back-to-back. If I had to play today, yeah, it might not be ideal, but I'd find a way, and I'd be 100 percent. And that starts with just a mentality and your preparation.
"So, we've got three days. It's not like it's new to anybody in the league, so we'll get ourselves together."
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer continually pointed out this week that the Cowboys have proven themselves to be great performers on short weeks, something they've come to perfect thanks to their annual Thanksgiving game (and last year's November to December transition was nearly as brutal as this current stretch).
Nobody in the coaching staff, front office or in the locker room is offering up prepackaged excuses from a 2-2 team that needs to not only move to 3-2 in the race to take back the NFC East, but to also prove their 4-3-1 home record in 2025 was a fluke that won't happen again.
That will require all three phases showing improvement through four quarters of football, and Prescott is keenly aware that the GOTI moniker hasn't applied yet to his side of the ball, but if they can do, for four quarters, what they did against the Texans in the final two quarters on Sunday, they'll end up where they want to be.
"We're four games in. I think we can get better," he said. "Am I complacent with what we've done? Absolutely not. Do I think what we've done is enough? Absolutely not. Do I still believe that that's who we are and that's who we're going to be? Damn right.
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. I can pretty firmly say you won't catch me saying I regret anything."
