Dak Prescott: 'We're The Enforcers' in Cowboys vs. Cardinals Pre-Playoff' Game

“They’ve got our respect,'' says Dallas' team leader, quarterback Dak Prescott. "But we’re going to come out there and be the enforcers ...''

ARLINGTON - The Dallas Cowboys understandably view today's visit to AT&T Stadium by the Arizona Cardinals as a potential NFL playoffs preview. So they'd like to assert themselves now, in Week 17.

“They’ve got our respect,'' said Dallas' team leader, quarterback Dak Prescott. "But we’re going to come out there and be the enforcers and put our best football forward.”

Prescott may have meant "best foot forward.'' Nevertheless, the message is clear: Dallas views itself as a "bully on the block'' here, so much so that a quarterback not usually given to bulletin-board pregame commentary sees the need to say it out loud.

Dallas enters the weekend as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, hoping it can catch No. 1 Green Bay. Arizona is at No. 5, but there are differences between the Cardinals and the Cowboys - the most glaring of which is their present rolls.

Dallas has won four straight, most recently quieting critics of Prescott's "slump'' by beating Washington 56-14 last week.

Arizona has, meanwhile, lost three straight. And offensive slumping? The Cardinals have managed to score a total of 51 points in the three games.

That's right: Dallas (sometimes employing its "Fastball'' offense) has more points in the last four quarters than Arizona has in the last 12 quarters.

DFW native Kyler Murray is the best fix for Arizona, as he's 8-0 here at AT&T Stadium (high school, college and pro) and as he's got numbers that put him above Dallas' recent opposing QBs. Murray has 21 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions and has also rushed for five touchdowns.

But Prescott's numbers in this building are extraordinary: In his last 11 full games, he's thrown for almost 3,600 yards, with 35 total TDs (31 passing) to just four interceptions, with a passer rating of 115.6.

How will Kyler and Dak measure up to one another? How will Arizona and Dallas measure up?

“This is a playoff team,'' Prescott said of the Cards. "This is a team we could see next month. So you want to make sure we come out and we play our best ball.''

And, Dak's Cowboys obviously also want to come out and talk very plainly about "enforcing'' which playoff-caliber team is best.

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