When Tony Romo went down in Dallas’ pre-season defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, it looked like the Cowboys were on the brink of yet another disappointing campaign. In 2015, Jason Garrett’s men slipped to 4-12 after winning their opening two games of the season but their lowly finish enabled the Cowboys to snag running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth-overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

And what a decision that was. Elliott has been in top form since joining Dallas, rushing for a league-leading 703 yards in the first six weeks of the season. In fact, he became the first rookie in NFL history to rush for over 130 yards in four consecutive games – and the best offensive line in football has certainly helped to create opportunities for the former Ohio State star out of the backfield.

However, it would be unfair to suggest that Dallas’ current standing is purely down to Elliott’s work at running back. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State, has been elite since stepping in for Romo and Jason Garrett has a real selection headache on his hands. As of October 20th, Prescott has thrown seven touchdown passes and just one interception; and he recently surpassed Tom Brady’s rookie record of 162 passes without throwing a pick at the start of an NFL career.

Tony Romo or Dak Prescott? @CSimmsQB says the #DallasCowboys should do what the #Patriots did with Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe pic.twitter.com/FNhhDnlzJK

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 17, 2016

Since losing to the New York Giants in Dallas’ opening game of the campaign, Prescott has completed 72% of his pass attempts – an incredible statistic. In addition, the rookie has also been effective on the ground; rushing for 67 yards off twenty attempts and scoring three touchdowns.

But most importantly of all, the Cowboys have five victories to their name and THAT is what counts in this business. Statistics and individual records are fine but it is all about getting your hands on a Super Bowl ring; and as of October 20th, Dallas are 14/1 in Bet365’s NFL betting odds to do just that.

Dallas have confirmed that Prescott will start in Week 8 but if something goes wrong, will Jason Garrett turn immediately back to Tony Romo at the first sign of trouble? Most fans will want their head coach to stick by Prescott but he may come under intense pressure from the Cowboys hierarchy. Franchise owner Jerry Jones is a huge Romo fan and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Dallas boss have some kind of input into what goes on in the locker room.

There shouldn’t even be a debate: Dak Prescott has done enough to keep the starting job. Could Romo lead Dallas to a convincing victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field? Probably not. Prescott is riding high on confidence and momentum right now and the Cowboys MUST keep riding the hype.
Who knows, the Prescott-Elliott combination could take Dallas all the way to the Super Bowl.