Utterly dismantling a Carolina Panthers defense that has dominated the rest of the N.F.L. this season, Dak Prescott looked like the Super Bowl-caliber quarterback Jerry Jones wondered if he would ever be.
After all, it was Jones who had originally preferred Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook to Prescott in the 2016 draft. The team owner reportedly was apoplectic when the Cowboys were unable to trade into that first round for Lynch. That weekend, Prescott was little more than a consolation prize, and there were even members of the Cowboys’ front office who did not then view Prescott, a Mississippi State project, as a draftable player.