Great NFL teams often reveal themselves as such not in close wins against formidable opponents, but by simply winning the games they're supposed to win in the anticipated manner.
Dallas in 2019 is now 3 for 3 in the latter scenarios. And in a 31-6 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday following season-opening wins against the Giants and Redskins, the Cowboys somehow managed to win in impressive fashion despite the fact that they were facing what appears to be a historically bad team.
WATCH: Dak Prescott's best throws vs. Dolphins
In the first half against the Dolphins, the Cowboys were trending toward one of the most embarrassing losses in recent NFL history. Dallas was fortunate to carry a 10-6 lead into halftime after Miami first dropped a touchdown and then fumbled in the red zone within the first 30 minutes of the game.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw 11 incompletions through the first two weeks of the season combined, had 11 incompletions and an interception in the first half Sunday. The Cowboys could not generate a pass rush with their banged-up defensive line, and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie was getting picked on by the same Dolphins who entered the game averaging 5 points per contest.
The resilience that followed can best be epitomized by a key sequence early in the second half.
Four plays after a 74-yard Prescott touchdown pass to Randall Cobb was negated due to a holding penalty on Connor Williams, the QB found Amari Cooper for a 19-yard score, the receiver’s second of the day.
From that point on, the real Cowboys — the ones who entered the game favored to beat the Dolphins by 22 points; not the ones who were outgained by the Dolphins 216-204 in the first half — were in charge.
WATCH: Full Cowboys vs. Dolphins highlights
That the Cowboys began Sunday’s game so poorly makes the following so impressive, even against the lowly Dolphins:
— Both starting running back Ezekiel Elliott (125) and backup RB Tony Pollard (103) ended the game with more than 100 rushing yards. It was the first time Dallas has had two RBs reach the century mark on the ground same game since 1998 (Emmitt Smith and Chris Warren).
— Wide receiver Amari Cooper, who scored twice against Miami, now has 10 receiving TDs with Dallas dating back to last season, the most by any player in his first 12 games with the Cowboys since at least 1970.
— Prescott's 19 career rushing TDs, the latest of which he scored in the third quarter against the Dolphins, are the most by any NFL QB since 2016. Further, his eight games of two-plus passing TDs and one-plus rushing TDs are three more than any other QB in that span.
— On defense, recently paid star defender Demarcus Lawrence recovered a fumble. Robert Quinn, playing his first game with the Cowboys after an offseason trade from the Dolphins, registered a sack. One of the NFL’s best defensive units from a year ago allowed no touchdowns.
These are the kinds of numbers we expected of the Cowboys when Sporting News picked them to win Super Bowl 54. And Sunday’s statistical bounce-back was encouraging for their offense, in particular.
WATCH: Jaylon Smith's biggest plays vs. Dolphins
"When this offense gets going, there's so many weapons," Prescott told Fox’s Pam Oliver in a post-game interview. “We can use my legs; got the two backs to go for over 100 yards today, credit the offensive line. Just this team, this offense coming together.
"If we get out of our own way, we can be really good."
When asked how the Cowboys can improve offensively after scoring 31-plus points in each of their first three games, Prescott used one word: “cleaner.”
Indeed, Dallas gave up 100 yards to Miami on Sunday in the form of penalties. Prescott’s interception was the result of a bad decision and an equally bad throw on a play he described as “greedy.” The room for improvement is evident.
Yet some teams might struggle to win games while working out early-season kinks. The Cowboys, however, have a point differential of +53 through three weeks as games against the Saints and Packers loom over the next two.
Dallas is likely to be favored in that game in New Orleans next week. If the Cowboys beat the Saints, their Week 5 game against the Packers might be considered a matchup of the NFC's two best teams.
The Cowboys' journey to that big game and others late in the season (see at Patriots in November) will have looked at times ugly and at other times pretty.
That's fine, because for great teams, the pretty heavily outweighs the ugly, just as it did Sunday for the Cowboys.