ARLINGTON, Texas — Most of the time, an NFL team's final preseason game centers around giving one final look to the players vying for the last spots left on the upcoming regular season's roster.
But Dallas Cowboys fans got a little more than that on Saturday night: They got a glimpse into quarterback Dak Prescott's play-calling abilities.
In the hours leading up to the Cowboys' preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium, reports began leaking out of Arlington that the team would be having Prescott call the team's offensive plays during the contest. Those rumors were later confirmed as team owner Jerry Jones addressed the media and took questions on the team's recent acquisition of backup quarterback -- and former No. 3 overall draft pick -- Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers.
In addition to revealing that Jones never consulted Prescott before pulling the trigger on that trade -- a move Jones sees as an investment in the potential that his own scouts once saw in Lance as a draft prospect -- the owner laughed when asked about head coach Mike McCarthy tapping Prescott for offensive play-calling duties in Saturday's final preseason game.
"We may find that he's found his calling," Jones said, smiling.
That reply elicited laughs, as you'd expect. But Jones has a history of hiring past Cowboys quarterbacks -- Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore, most notably -- as the team's offensive coordinators.
And even with McCarthy personally helming what's being hailed as the team's new-look "Texas Coast" offense this year after the team parted ways with Moore this offseason, Prescott proved himself a capable offensive mind on Saturday after all.
Following a pair of fairly anemic offensive efforts from the team's offense in its first two preseason games, Prescott's calls on Saturday yielded some legitimate spark. The team's offense produced four touchdown drives, 28 first downs, a three-for-three rate on fourth-down conversions and an eight-for-14 third-down conversation rate en route to a 31-16 win -- the team's sole victory of the preseason.
With Prescott in his ear, likely outgoing Cowboys backup QB Will Grier -- an expected roster casualty in the wake of the Lance trade -- completed 29 for 35 passes for 305 yards, two passing touchdowns and no interceptions. In what was ostensibly his audition for making a roster somewhere else in the league, Grier also peeled off another 53 yards and two touchdowns as a rusher throughout the game.
Impressive stuff!
So maybe Jones -- who was also spotted chatting up quarterbacking legend Tom Brady, in town for some unknown reason, before the game -- was onto something after all about Prescott's play-calling future.
As for Prescott? He certainly relished the opportunity to show what he could get done with a headset on.
"Yeah, it’s fun," he said in a statement released by Cowboys at halfime. "It’s a great time. This is the [stuff] you dream about when you play this game. It’s not just playing the game, it’s being able to impact it every which way. Obviously, knowing that this is a big night for Will [Grier], I was just trying to make him comfortable, keep him comfortable and continue with the spirit we have going."