Dak Prescott's first NFL season almost became the perfect story. A fourth-round rookie had the Cowboys at 13-3, and one win away from the NFC Championship Game. That's when Aaron Rodgers turned the tale.

This story takes us back to 2016, when Dallas hosted the Packers. The rookie Prescott was playing on another level.

Dallas was down 21-3 when Prescott marshalled the team and dragged them back to a tied game at 31-31 with just 35 seconds remaining. But it wasn't meant to be, as Prescott had recalled.

"I mean as a rookie, I thought we were just going to go and wipe them off the field, and that didn't happen. Started off down 21-3, able to come back and make a play, and then just thinking ... 'Oh, that was just a lucky play," Prescott said.

Green Bay faced third-and-20 with only 12 seconds left. When the pass rush came, the Packers' offensive line held strong. Rodgers rolled and turned left, finding plenty of time and space in the pocket and made his way to the line of scrimmage.

That's when he spotted Jared Cook near the opponents' 30-yard mark and threw the ball for a brilliant catch near the sidelines. For the Packers, it meant that the clock stopped since the ball was caught within the white line.

Three seconds later, Mason Crosby drilled a 51-yard field goal to send the Packers to the NFC Championship Game after a 34-31 win.

Years later, Prescott admitted he viewed the play very differently after working under former Packers coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas.

Jerry Jones believed Dak Prescott proved he was Dallas' future

According to a report by USA Today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones refused to take any moral victory from the defeat. Still, he could not hide how impressed he was with Prescott after watching the rookie respond to one of the league's hottest quarterbacks.

"He was everything you could dream about if you had a make believe situation on a rookie quarterback," Jones said. "He played in a veteran way."

Prescott finished his postseason debut with 302 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 103.2 passer rating. He threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, added a two-point conversion on the ground and twice helped Dallas erase Green Bay's lead.

After the game, while storms delayed fans from leaving AT&T Stadium, Prescott returned to the field in his suit and took in the moment. 

You can read more at the Dallas Cowboys Community!

Written by

Evince Das

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar