Dak Prescott played the game of his life when the Cowboys needed it most | Opinion

TAMPA — Perhaps that was just Stop 1 of the Dak Prescott Redemption Tour that was unveiled on Monday night to close out the first weekend of the NFL playoffs.

Who was that guy?

The quarterback who sparked the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-14 victory that marked the franchise’s first road playoff win in 30 years sure wasn’t the Prescott who was seen a week earlier during the regular season finale at Washington. And Prescott certainly wasn’t the turnover machine that had come to define his regular season.

He was only the best Prescott you’ve ever seen. Prescott became the first player in Cowboys history to account for five touchdowns in a postseason game, which is a wonderful thing to have on your résumé when you are a highly scrutinized NFL quarterback.

Yet Prescott’s flawless performance represented so much more than that.

Did somebody mention scrutiny?

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The high-profile job of quarterbacking the most visible team in the NFL has its perks, such as the many endorsement deals that have made Prescott and his alter ego a smashing commercial success. Yet he can’t have it both ways. That high-profile gig comes with over-the-top criticism and Internet memes.

Well, whoever put out the one last that depicted Prescott in a cartoon image as a deer frozen by headlights, this one’s on you.

Prescott’s performance – he completed 25 of 33 passes for 305 yards with four TDs and a sterling 143.3 efficiency rating, plus ran for a 1-yard, sleight-of-hand TD – was wrapped with the poise that he surely needed to not only lead his team but to silence all of those critics.

After tying for the NFL lead with a career-high 15 interceptions (in just 12 games), another of Prescott’s significant stats on Monday night read zero – as in zero turnovers.

Now that, in addition to leading his team into an NFC divisional playoff matchup at San Francisco on Sunday is what redemption looks like. At least for now.

And yes, the dismal performance at Washington in Week 18 had at least some of the motivation that fueled Prescott’s comeback for the ages. If nothing else, the last game out reminded Prescott of what not to do with the stakes a bit higher.

"I got away from the way I play this game,” he reflected. At Washington, Prescott completed just 37.8% of his throws and had a pick-six that factored into a dismal 45.8 passer rating. “I got greedy. Tried to just force some throws, tried to take the big ones and that’s not who I’ve been throughout my career, taking what they give me, waiting on the big shot. I think it was uncharacteristic, so yeah, sure, it was a way for me to dial it back in.

"But I wiped that clean and I knew what this game meant. I knew how important it was for us, and as I said, (we were) prepared."

If anyone in the visitor’s locker room at Raymond James Stadium was surprised by Prescott’s cool head and monumental comeback, they certainly didn’t show it late Monday night.

Let Zack Martin, the rock of Prescott’s offensive line, speak for the group.

"Everyone in our locker room knows what that guy is about and what he’s made of,” Martin said.

No Cowboys player is as decorated with honors as much as Martin, who has been selected to eight Pro Bowls and last week was named first-team all-pro for the sixth time.

Martin knows. He can be one of the NFL’s best players but many in the general public – especially outside of Dallas – wouldn’t recognize him without his helmet on. He’s a largely anonymous offensive lineman. He realizes how different life in the public eye – and in the line of fire – is for Prescott.

"And playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is certainly a position that everyone likes to comment on,” Martin said. “What that guy is made of, you couldn’t ask for a better guy for that position."

Consistency. Composure. Those are the traits that Martin and others see as so essential in defining Prescott. Last week, when the questions about Prescott’s ability to bounce back dominated the buzz, Martin laughed it off.

"No offense," Martin said to a small group of media assembled at his locker. “But it was fodder."

And it’s also Prescott’s world.

"He probably gets talked about more than any football player there is right now,” Martin said. “You can’t get him down. He’s going to come out and keep swinging. Dak’s been through a lot of things in his life that he’s battled through, persevered through."

Now here’s another chapter of adversity, courtesy of his professional life. Prescott pointed to his preparation as the key to his ability to remain calm and steady on Monday night (while the other quarterback, Tom Brady, was out of sync with the big blunders to show for it). He told himself to keep in check whatever frustration pops up during the course of the game.

"There was a little bit of frustration, but this week knowing that I couldn’t allow that to get in my head,” Prescott said.

The net result is another week, another chance at redemption.

Prescott knows there will be much discussion this week about last year’s playoffs – and how they ended for the Cowboys against the 49ers, and the huge time-management blunder that sealed it when the clock expired as the quarterback tried to spike the football to set up a potential game-winning field goal.

So, here come the 49ers again, only on their turf and with an NFL-long 11-game winning streak.

"For me and this team, that’s a scar,” Prescott said of last year’s playoff defeat. “That one hurts and it will hurt for the rest of my career and it will be a (source of) motivation throughout my career, just to make sure I’m preparing the right way, leaving no doubt in the preparation.

"Just being able to get those guys again, DeMarcus (Lawrence) said it earlier in the week in the leadership meeting, that this thing is set up just for us – playing teams that have beaten us. So, it’s important for us to capitalize on the preparation, take it one day at a time and make sure we’re ready to go."

In other words, the Redemption Tour rolls on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott played the game of his life in NFL playoffs