So if you did not end up tuning in Sunday night during Week 4... Dak Prescott made me look really stupid. I can tell you right now, I didn't hedge my bets — I started Green Bay's defense in fantasy football, for Pete's sake (I lost this week, by the way, thank you for asking).
What I expected to be a bloodbath ended up becoming a shootout for the ages as the Dallas Cowboys — sans CeeDee Lamb, mind you — tied the Packers 40-40. And as for the passing woes that seemingly played Dak in Week 3 (relax, he still led all QBs in completions (31) and was seventh in yards thrown (251)), Lamb's absence was not nearly as big a factor against Green Bay as many had thought.
Still, it could be said that the biggest headline from this game was the spoiling of Micah Parsons' homecoming to Arlington, Texas. If it wasn't to most, then it certainly was to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who had this to say after the win:
"It's very simple: Dak was indispensable, in my mind… and Micah wasn't," Jones said. "It's just numbers, it's that easy. And that's not personal at all… the numbers just weren't there with Micah."
But Jerry Jones is missing the forest for the trees, and proving to be just as bad a winner as he is a negotiator. Because while at 1-2-1 and featuring the absence of Micah Parsons on the defense, and CeeDee Lamb for who knows how long, this game, and this season, should really move on from those two headlines.
Dak Prescott is the best he's ever been
Through four games, the Cowboys have played the Eagles, the Giants' pass rush, and Green Bay. Those are three defenses with extremely intimidating personnel up front (the Giants/Cowboys rematch will be one to watch now that New York's pass rush has been seemingly activated after Week 4 against the Chargers). And while Dak wasn't necessarily running for his life against the Packers, there is a reason why Dallas' offensive line was ranked so low going into Week 4.
Moreover, injury-riddled and underwhelming as they are (no one has graded above a 65 in PFF for pass blocking), the line delivered as expected. Despite Jones' inflammatory post-game remarks, Micah Parsons specifically had himself a great game, posting a 34.9% win average against Dallas' line (the average is about 17%), to go with eight quarterback pressures and a sack. He performed as advertised.
Which is makes Prescott's performance all the more impressive (31/40 passing, 319 yards thrown, 4 total TDs (1 rushing), 0 INTs). His chemistry with George Pickens has now finally fully loaded as well, apparently, as the Cowboys' new WR1 had his official breakout Dallas game, catching eight of his team-high 11 targets for 134 yards and two TDs. Between him and tight end Jake Ferguson, Dak has more weapons left in Lamb's wake than anyone really gave him credit for.
As for the rest of the season, Prescott's future looks bright. Other than the game that Lamb went out in, Prescott has only thrown a single interception through four weeks. Barring injury, he is on pace to post the highest completion rate (72.9%) of his career on the most attempts per game he's averaged for a single campaign outside of his five-game injury-shortened season in 2020.
And if he can produce a 124.9 passer rating against what should be the stingiest defense in the league without his number one, who knows how far Dak Prescott can go this season, Lamb or not
This season, which started out as an excoriation for the Micah Parsons deal, has morphed entirely as of Week 4. Let it instead be a referendum for the comeback of Dak Prescott, for real and for true. He has a legitimate shot to become the 2025 NFL MVP, and any attempt by Jones or anyone else in the organization to yell about Micah Parsons is only taking away from his greatness.