Countless times since Thanksgiving we've all seen the highlight of Amari Cooper out-running Washington safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the end zone to complete a 90-yard touchdown.
We've praised Cooper's route-running, speed and big-play ability. What we've ignored, for the most part, has been the throw.
It's a pass Prescott wouldn't have even attempted earlier this season and a route play-caller Scott Linehan wouldn't have called.
Prescott has been a different quarterback since Cooper arrived a month ago from Oakland for a first-round draft choice.
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Cooper's presence has allowed Prescott to play like he did the first 24 games of his career, when he placed premium on protecting the ball, while letting teammates Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and Ezekiel Elliott make plays.
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We're talking about a dude who had 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first 24 games.
Then he went through an awful 15-game stretch with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while passing for fewer than 200 yards 10 times.
During the Cowboys' three-game winning streak, he's completing 70 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and an interception. He's passing for 255.7 yards per game and he looks much more like the player who was Rookie of the Year in 2016.
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That's the player who must a show up Thursday at AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys to beat New Orleans and its future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
This isn't a game of one-on-one, so Prescott doesn't need better stats than Brees, but he needs to play one of his best games.
Prescott's pass against Washington is tangible evidence how Cooper has changed the quarterback.
First, if you look at a chart of every pass Prescott has thrown this season the middle of the field is barren. It's a place the Cowboys rarely attack - at least they hadn't before Thanksgiving Day.
Cooper wasn't even the primary receiver. He was running a clear-out route, but Prescott spied him in the middle of the field and zipped a pass between three defenders.
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It was a gusty throw, the kind he rarely attempts, and it was accurate.
Cooper did the rest to complete the third-longest touchdown reception in franchise history. The point: In one month Prescott trusts Cooper more than Dez Bryant or any other receiver he's ever had.
"You saw Thanksgiving the type of player he is and what he can do," Prescott said. "He brings that swagger in the locker room he bought in quickly. He's one of us. It's like he's been here all year.
"We sit one seat apart in our meeting room, and we're always talking. The way he runs routes and gets separation and prepares he makes my job easier," Prescott said.
Cooper, a superior route-runner, presents a much easier target for Prescott than Bryant did because he creates considerably more space between himself and the defenders covering him.
Now, Prescott can return to doing what he does best: distributing the ball.
He lost two fumbles in a loss to Washington last month, including one returned for a touchdown. He threw an interception into double coverage and lost a key fumble trying to turn nothing into something in a loss to Tennessee.
After each game, Prescott said he was trying to do too much. During the win streak, he's not.
As former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington used to say, he's doing what the game asks him to do.
That's when he plays his best football. Prescott doesn't have the arm talent to lift a collection of average receivers, but he has a set of intangibles - grit, leadership, competitiveness - that inspires his teammates.
And every time he makes a dazzling run like he did on his five-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to Washington to 31-10 or makes a throw like he did to Cooper their belief in his ability to makes plays at winning time grows.
He already had seven game-winning drives and 12 fourth-quarter comebacks. In Tony Romo's first three full seasons as a starter, he had nine game-winning drives and 10 fourth-quarter comebacks.
"No. 1, I think he's an exceptional leader - just watch his presence when he came into this league," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said of Prescott. " I think he's got a real good presence in the pocket. I think he can beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his feet. He's a winner."
And he'll have an opportunity to show a national television audience Thursday how much he's grown against the NFL's best team.
