The Dallas Cowboys Week 7 win against Detroit Lions was most notable for featuring the return of Dak Prescott. The franchise quarterback hadn’t played since Week 1, and after a solid relief effort by Cooper Rush, some questioned if the backup game manager was better for the team than the returning star. In the Cowboys-Lions game, Prescott proved that he can win games by relying on running and defense and that it is better to have the more talented players on the field. That’s just one of the Cowboys takeaways from Week 7. Here are a few more things we learned.

3. The Cowboys defense is incredible

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense will always get the headlines. That’s just the reality behind America’s Team and NFL football in general. However, one of the big Cowboys takeaways from the win over the Lions is that this defense should never be an afterthought.

The numbers on the Cowboys Week 7 defense were excellent. The unit held the Lions to 195 net passing yards, 117 rushing yards, and had five sacks and five turnovers.

The Dallas stars did their thing on Sunday, with Micah Parsons sacking Jared Goff once and Trevon Diggs notching his 17th career interception. The youngsters and role players showed up, too, though. Second-round rookie pass-rusher Sam Williams recorded his first two career sacks, and unheralded veterans Anthony Barr and Dorrance Armstrong Jr. both had big fumble recoveries.

The Cowboys now have the No. 2 scoring defense in the league and have given up the fewest points (104) of any team that’s played seven games.

Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott and CeeDee Lamb are the players everyone will talk about most (and we certainly will below), but as the Cowboys' Week 7 win proved, this team will go as far as its incredible defense will take it.

2. Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard are a two-headed monster

The Cowboys were able to keep the ship afloat with Cooper Rush because of running and defense, and that trend continued with Dak Prescott back in the Cowboys-Lions game.

Dallas ran for 139 yards on 32 carries, with Ezekiel Elliott going for 57 yards on 15 carries and scoring on two one-yard plunges. Tony Pollard added 83 yards on 12 carries.

The Cowboys' first drive of the second half was a perfect example of how the Dallas running game works and how the team wins games in 2022. Down 6-3 at the half, Trevon Diggs picked off Jarred Goff on the Lions' first second-half drive, giving Dak Prescott and company the ball on their own 18.

After a one-yard run from Elliott and a 1st-down completion to CeeDee Lamb, Elliott broke an 18-yarder to get the team near midfield. Two plays later, Pollard broke a 28-yard dash to set the Cowboys up in the red zone, and three plays after that, Elliott popped it in from the 1-yard line.

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Cowboys fans can complain about Pollard being the more explosive back and Elliott not being as dynamic as he used to be, but it’s now obvious that the Cowboys running game is best when both backs are heavily involved. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore seems to have found the right mix recently, and right now, Elliott and Pollard are the most dangerous 1-2 combo in the league.

1. Dak Prescott is the Cowboys quarterback

After his impressive relief spell, Cooper Rush will never have to pay for a Texas-sized porterhouse at a Dallas steakhouse for the rest of his life. However, Dak Prescott showed in the Cowboys' Week 7 win that he is the Cowboys QB.

That’s not to say that Prescott didn’t pay attention to his understudy while nursing his thumb injury for a month. The franchise signal-caller (hopefully for Cowboys fans) learned to be a little more Cooper Rush and a little less Patrick Mahomes, which will be good for the team.

In the Cowboys-Lions tilt, Prescott was an efficient 19-of-25 for 228 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. That performance didn’t vault him into the MVP conversation with Mahomes and Josh Allen, but it did get Dallas a comfortable W.

This was the perfect game to ease Prescott back into the fold, as the Lions defense isn’t exactly the ’85 Bears. The QB did take a sack on his second dropback of the game but kept his jersey mostly clean for the rest of the game.

The QB’s warmup games continue in Week 8 as the team takes on the Chicago Bears before the team’s bye. After that, things get real with matchups against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and NFC East rival New York Giants.

That will be the real test of how much Prescott has tapped into his inner Cooper Rush. Those will require him to be a game manager most of the time but also pull out his QB Superman cape when the team needs him most. That’s what Prescott has that Rush doesn’t.

That said, the big Cowboys Week 7 takeaway is that it’s good to see Prescott play smart and under control when that’s what his team needs.