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What Dak, Dez and Zeke have done since Week 1 loss to Giants

Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL in rushing yards per game since Week 1 ESPN Stats & Information

So much has changed since the Week 1 matchup between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys. That game ended on a Terrance Williams reception where Williams decided to turn up field instead of head out of bounds with no timeouts remaining and under 10 seconds to play.

Since then the Cowboys have rattled off 11 consecutive wins, tying the franchise record set over the 1968-69 seasons. Dallas has solidified its spot atop ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings, coming in at No. 1 for the fourth week in a row.

Back in that Week 1 loss for the Cowboys, Dak Prescott failed to find the end zone for the only time in his young career, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a season-low 51 yards and Dez Bryant had his second-lowest career receiving yardage total (eight).

Here’s a look at how the three have dominated their opponents in just about every game since Week 1.

Prescott’s downfield passing

Prescott’s regular-season debut was uneventful compared to his last 11 games. The rookie completed 25 of 45 passes for 227 yards and added 12 yards on two rushes. He threw 10 passes that traveled 15 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage that game, completing just two of those attempts for 36 yards.

Since then Prescott has been one of the best downfield passers in the game.

He leads all qualified passers in completion percentage and touchdowns without an interception on throws of 15 or more yards since the start of Week 2. Prescott has a higher completion percentage on deep passes than highly-drafted players like Cam Newton and Blake Bortles have on all passes during that span.

Prescott has thrown off-target on 25 percent of his downfield throws since the Giants game, the fifth-lowest mark in the league.

Overall Prescott has completed 53 percent of throws 15 or more yards past the line of scrimmage. The only rookie in the last 10 seasons with a higher completion percentage on those throws was Robert Griffin III, who completed 56 percent of downfield passes in 2012. Griffin won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award that season.

Elliott’s emergence

Dallas’ great downfield passing might not be possible without having one of the game’s most explosive rushing attacks. The Cowboys have 48 designed runs that have gained 10 or more yards this season, most in the NFL.

Thirty-seven of those were by Elliott, all since Week 2. Twenty-eight NFL teams do not have that many 10-yard designed runs during that span.

Since the Giants game, Elliott is the only qualified rusher in the NFL who averages over three yards before contact per rush and over two yards after contact per rush. He ranks fourth in the former and sixth in the latter since Week 2.

Elliott’s 112 rushing yards-per-game average since Week 2 is over 20 yards per game better than anyone else. If he scores one more rushing touchdown this season, Elliott will pass Tony Dorsett in 1977 for most by a Cowboys rookie.

Bryant’s improved chemistry with Prescott

To complete the “Big 3”, Prescott and Bryant have begun to emerge as one of the game’s best quarterback-wide receiver duos since a rough first game together.

Bryant averaged 0.2 yard per route run in Week 1 (eight yards on 43 routes), the second-lowest average of his career. Since then, the seventh-year pro has averaged 4.3 yards per route run, sixth best among wide receivers with at least 50 targets. Prescott has six touchdowns and no interceptions targeting Bryant this season.

The fourth quarter is where these two have really shined. Bryant has four fourth-quarter touchdown receptions on passes from Prescott since Week 2, tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for most by a QB-WR duo.

One of those touchdowns came in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles, tying the game with 3:04 remaining before the Cowboys won in overtime. Another came in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens, and that proved to be the decisive score in the game.