Obviously, there are concerns for the Cowboys with the team sitting at 1-1 after two weeks, needing a 64-yard last-second kick from Brandon Aubrey and an overtime to get past the lowly Giants at home. Offensive line, defensive line, defensive backs–there’s a lot to worry about here.

But if there’s one thing that is encouraging, it’s that after a forgettable 2024 season that was cut in half because of a hamstring injury, quarterback Dak Prescott is back to looking like Dak Prescott again. And the numbers are there to show it.

Through two weeks, Prescott has 549 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception, a completion rate of 68.6% and a passer rating of 88.8. In the vaunted grades handed out by Pro Football Focus, Prescott currently has a grade of 89.9, which is just off of his career high, 90.0 in 2023.

As things stand, after he was rated No. 30 out of 42 quarterbacks in 2024, Prescott is the second highest rated quarterback in the NFL, behind only Matthew Stafford of the Rams.

Prescott current leads the league in completions at 59, and he’s done that despite the Cowboys’ receivers already tagged with three dropped passes. He’s also gone back to one of his strengths as a quarterback–looking for deep balls. Deep passes (20-plus yards) have accounted for 15.1% of the Cowboys’ pass plays and though Prescott is 4-for-13 on those shots, he’s gotten a 90.3 on those throws.  He has gone 10-for-11 on passes in the 11-to-19-yard range.

Last year, Prescott was excellent on deep throws, but the Cowboys only used them 11.9% of their pass plays. Prescott also struggled with mid-range passes of 11-to-19 yards, completing 51.9% of them, with four touchdowns and six interceptions.

It’s early but Prescott’s numbers evoke his 2023 season, in which he was a second-team All-Pro and an MVP runner-up. Prescott’s deep-pass grade that year was 95.3 and his mid-range grade was 91.3, with 26 touchdowns and three interceptions combined.

For Prescott, the two major changes that have paid off thus far have been the addition of George Pickens, the talented if enigmatic wide receiver the team got from Pittsburgh, and new coach Brian Schottenheimer.

CeeDee Lamb has been back to his usual self (222 yards on 16 catches) but the addition of Pickens (eight catches and 98 yards) gives the Cowboys one of the best WR2s in the NFL.

And Schottenheimer has Prescott back in his comfort zone under center. Prescott has been very complimentary about him.

“That game was an epitome of him and his coaching style and just the resiliency that he has and the way he carries himself and the way he coaches,” Prescott said. “The standard is the standard, and at the end of the day, that’s winning.”