For a team that hadn’t faced a challenge in its first two weeks, though, Sunday’s outcome was shocking.
Still, it came against a Cardinals team once coached by the late Dennis Green, who memorably coined the phrase, “if you want to crown them, then crown their ass,” after a loss to a Super Bowl-favorite Chicago Bears team. Only Arizona didn’t let Dallas off the hook this time around and collected rookie head coach Jonathan Gannon’s first win in the process.
By Prescott’s account, though, the Cowboys aren’t crowning themselves. They know the journey has just begun to the ultimate destination.
“We’re staying in the moment. That’s who we are. That’s who this team is,” said Prescott, who was playing behind an offensive line missing two starters. “This was a humbling loss in that sense. Obviously, we’ve had a lot of adversity just throughout the week. It wasn’t easy. Nobody’s making excuses. I thought we had a great opportunity to come in and, even with the adversity, get a win. Obviously, every week you’ve got to reset and refocus, and honestly, it’s a little bit easier after a loss. So, there’s not going to be any worries about that.”
Whether this was adversity the Cowboys were unable to overcome or an opponent they looked past upsetting them remains to be seen. The first semblance of an answer on that front will come in Week 4 against the New England Patriots.