Dallas Cowboys: 3 players whose stock rose Week 1, and two who fell

There are no moral victories in the NFL, but following a 6-10 season in 2020 the Dallas Cowboys managed to hang with the defending Super Bowl champions all the way to the end on Thursday night. Despite starting the season 0-1, for the most part, the season opener was an encouraging step forward for a team that has serious aspirations of winning the NFC East this year.

The matchup featured plenty of players at the top of their game, but also quite a few who had performances that might leave fans worried. Here are three Cowboys whose stock rose in Week 1, and two whose stock fell: 

Dallas Cowboys Stock Up: Dak Prescott

Truthfully, I believe that Prescott simply escaping this game healthy and playing semi-competently would have seen him as listed as a player who was stock up. After missing all of the preseason, Thursday night served as his first game action since sustaining a gruesome ankle injury in Week 5 last season. That said, I am not sure anyone reasonably expected him to play as well as he did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In his return, Prescott tied his career highs with 42 completions and 58 attempts, throwing for over 400 yards (for a franchise-record eighth time) and three touchdowns. He also orchestrated a potential game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter that gave the Cowboys the lead with just 1:24 left on the clock.

Simply put, Dak Prescott looked as good for the Cowboys as he did during his red hot start to 2020, if not better. That’s a great sign of relief for Cowboys fans who had reasonable concerns about how Dak’s return might go given the severity of his injury.