ARLINGTON, Texas — Who knew the kryptonite for the Dallas Cowboys super-charged offense would be the lowly Miami Dolphins, who came into AT&T Stadium the worst-ranked defense in the NFL.
After a couple of early scoring drives, quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense went into a tailspin. They had four straight possessions with nothing to show for it.
"Some missed opportunities, missed assignments," said Cowboys tight end Jason Witten. "It just wasn't our best early on and it took us a while to get going."
It was so bad, the hapless Dolphins actually out-gained the Cowboys in the first half. And Prescott threw the type of interception that had Cowboy nation wondering what was going on.
"Yeah, just terrible," said Prescott. "I think I saw both guys. Just got away from me and wasn't a good play."
When searching for clues to explain the Cowboys slow start, the investigation wasn't hard at all, because the quarterback took full responsibility. Dak Prescott said it was a classic case of simply trying to do too much.
His comments were some of his most candid to date.
"I was just being too greedy," said Prescott. "Trying to do too much in the first half. I said it Kellen, that was on me. In the first half I was just being too greedy."
After a first half that couldn't have been much worse, the response couldn't have been much better.
Even after a penalty erased a long touchdown, the Cowboys answered the call with a pair of surgical touchdown drives in the third quarter.
"Really just needed to turn up the intensity," said receiver Devin Smith. "We just had to turn it up a notch and so we came in here, got refocused, went out there and handled business."
And there was Prescott leading from the front, making sure he and his teammates could clean up the first half mess he helped create.
"Dak being the kind of leader he is, he defines what you want and then, ok, let's process it," said Witten "Here's what you need to do to fix it and then let's move forward."
The third-quarter success is becoming a trend. In the first three games this season, Prescott's passing has been brilliant out of the break.
He's yet to throw a third-quarter incompletion, going 22-for-22, with 384 yards. He's also racked up three passing touchdowns and another running.
Oh, and he's thrown zero third-quarter interceptions.
As you might suspect, his third-quarter QB rating is a perfect 158.3.
"I knew I was being too greedy. I fixed that within myself," said Prescott. "You have those games, you have those times when you get that way and you've got to set yourself back and realize that and that's what this was."
A step back to take what Cowboy fans hope can be a leap forward.
