Dak Prescott's latest signature moment looks to keep Tony Romo in full backup mode

PITTSBURGH – The game had everything.

It had not one climactic play, but several, each one more unlikely than the one before. It had Dez Bryant catching a clutch touchdown, emotional after the death of his father only hours before the game. It had Ben Roethlisberger with a fake spike in the last minute, lobbing a perfect throw to Antonio Brown in the end zone for what looked like a game-winning play. It had Ezekiel Elliott bursting into the end zone with only a few seconds left, holding out the ball as if he stole it, with Dak Prescott sprinting behind him like a little brother.

In that moment, when Dallas scored last, there was a distant, shocked roar of visiting fans celebrating as home Steelers fans stared. There was the stunned look of players on the Steelers defense, some crouching and some bent over at the waist and some just standing still. The moment hadn’t yet processed for them.

But on the other sideline, and in the stands, and at home, what had happened is clearer: The Cowboys are a monster. And Prescott, again, isn’t showing signs he’ll surrender the job to Tony Romo. Even team owner Jerry Jones said as much after Sunday’s Cowboy triumph.

In the locker room after the 35-30 victory lifted the team to 8-1, there was wide-eyed assurance in all of them. Elliott’s eyebrows popped when he said how physical it was, enunciating “phy-si-cal.” Jones strode over to center Travis Frederick first, grabbing his shoulder and praising him for bowling over the Steelers to set Elliott free for the game-clincher. Romo, who had amateur lip readers scrambling on social media to figure out what praise he had for Prescott, came out of the shower area in mid-laugh. On the other side of the room, offensive linemen spoke quietly, nodding at each other, finishing each other’s thoughts.

“The spirit of the entire team,” Jones marveled, “as a matter of business, on that last drive.”

This is not a supercilious “How Bout Them Cowboys!” bluster. This is a team that runs downfield hard on offense and defense, and that’s it. They are going to wear teams down with blocking, they are going to hit teams with a rookie running back who accelerates after impact. They are going to give play-actions and screens. And that’s it. There is no gun-slinging here. There is just lots of gunpowder.

Elliott’s brilliance is obvious. There is still a shadow over him from domestic violence accusations that have launched an NFL investigation, but on the field there’s no uncertainty. He turns first-and-10 into second-and-5 and then third-and-short. Or he simply steamrolls into the secondary.

What’s mystifying is Prescott, who has gone from stand-in for Romo in the preseason to all-but-wrestling the starting job away from the Cowboys icon permanently. After the game, Jones said Prescott has “obliterated” any concerns about whether he needs to come off the field as long as he keeps playing this way.

“He is performing at a level that’s inordinate,” Jones said. The Cowboys owner would go on to say that Romo will be active next week against the Baltimore Ravens as Prescott’s backup, a move that has Romo’s blessing. “Tony would make the same decision,” Jones told The Dallas Morning News.

Here’s one shining example of Prescott’s sterling play that will not be on a highlight reel, but caught the attention of almost everyone on the Cowboys sideline: It was first-and-10 Dallas, in the fourth quarter, after the Steelers had taken a 24-23 lead. Less than eight minutes remained. Momentum had ebbed. The play call was for something downfield, but Prescott noticed the Steelers defense turning and running. He recalculated and checked down to Lucky Whitehead. Just a 5-yard pass, but an unnecessary roughness play turned it into a 20-yard play. In a tiny but real way, that turned the game.

“We always preach, no negative plays on the first play of a drive,” Mark Sanchez said after the game. “No sacks. You just need one explosive play. Check it down. This is so hard to teach somebody to do. It’s so impressive to me. He doesn’t understand what he’s doing yet. He has no idea.”

Later on that same drive, another example: With less than three minutes to go, it was third-and-8 on the Pittsburgh 28 after Elliott had been tackled for a 6-yard loss. Prescott stood in the pocket until the very last second, and fired to Jason Witten, just out of the grasp of Ross Cockrell. First down. Next play: Elliott galloped 14 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. And even after Pittsburgh’s fake-spike score that left the crowd delirious, Prescott was standing on his sideline, getting ready and thinking, “40 seconds is a lot of time.”

“He doesn’t flinch,” Sanchez said.

Prescott has led a 27-point performance in a win at Washington, a 30-point performance in a win at Green Bay, and now a 35-point performance in a win at Pittsburgh. Those are hostile places. Prescott and Elliott, with some help from Bryant, have won them all. Dallas has not lost since Week 1, and that was by a single point.

There is no quarterback controversy here. Not right now. Not when the head coach is calling Prescott “remarkable.” Jones said Romo is ready after a strong week of practice, but listening to his words it was hard not to believe No. 9 sees what everyone else sees. He and the boss shared some quality time at the owner’s grandson’s football game on Saturday and Jones said he has “the best mindset of any of us.” That hardly connotes bitterness. More like acceptance.

But for argument’s sake, let’s say there’s a rookie wall for Prescott. Let’s say Romo returns. Do not expect the swashbuckling quarterback of old, who does way too much with way too little time left. No, those days are gone. If it is Romo, it will be Romo the game manager, the crafty vet. It will be Romo playing like Prescott is now. See, it’s not just that the quarterback has changed in Dallas; the offense and the mindset has changed. Elliott and that offensive line sap so much energy and so much clock that the quarterback’s job is rendered simpler. The Cowboys will deplete their foes in the first quarter and they will destroy them in the last. That’s new, that’s different, and if this core stays healthy, that’s a long-term problem for the rest of the league.

More NFL on Yahoo Sports