Over the past five years, the Dallas Cowboys' identity has been built around its offensive line and run game. This was made evident not only by the team's decision to select Ezekiel Elliott with the 4th overall pick in the 2016 draft but to then make him the highest-paid running back in the history of the league before the start of this season.

Unfortunately for Dallas, their massive investment has so far just been “good” through the first 10 games of the 2019 season and not the “game-changing” presence he has been in the past. Presently, Elliott checks in as the eighth best rusher this season and has struggled to find consistency, as the team has cobbled together a 6-4 record through the weaker portion of its schedule.

Making matters worse, Dallas has dropped pretty much every tiebreaker scenario against potential playoff teams in the NFC, making a division title the most probable path to a postseason return. Zeke may be in the midst of a quieter season by his standards, but that has hardly been the case for his quarterback, Dak Prescott. Prescott has been a revelation for the Cowboys and has only gotten better as the season has worn on, making it clear that the team's season hinges on the arm of #4.

Through 10 games, Dak Prescott owns the fifth-best completion percentage in the league, connecting on 67.7% of his passes for a league-leading 3,221 yards at 8.8 yards per attempt, which is also the highest mark in the league. Oh, and he happens to be tied for the second-most touchdown passes with 21 on the the year. In the history of the Dallas Cowboys, no quarterback has ever thrown for more than 3,000 through the first 10 games, nor has anyone ever put together the kind of back-to-back monster performances that Dak has managed the past two weeks.

Against the Vikings and Lions, Prescott threw for a combined 841 yards and six touchdowns against just one interception, that coming on a desperation Hail Mary in the closing seconds of the Minnesota game. While Dallas may have fallen in that game, it could be argued that, had the Cowboys' coaching staff not taken the ball out of Dak's hands on 2nd and 3rd down from the Vikings' 11, Dallas may well have sealed the deal on an improbable comeback.

For what it's worth, the coaching staff seemed to learn from that mistake against Detroit the following week. In that game, Jason Garrett and Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore not only allowed Dak to replicate his success from the Vikings game but kept their foot on the gas in the closing moments by trusting Dak to throw the ball to convert key first downs to seal the game rather than simply handing it off to Elliott and hoping to bleed the clock.

While Elliott may have only carried the ball 16 times for 45 yards and a touchdown on the day, that didn't stop Dallas from force-feeding him in the final moments of the Vikings game, thereby derailing the momentum and snatching defeat from the jaws of certain victory.

In that game, Elliott carried the ball 20 times for 47 yards, making his production almost identical with regard to his rushing attempts. The message seemed to be clear: Dallas finally trusted in Dak to deliver a key victory. If the coaching staff continues to do that, and Prescott continues to hold up his end, Dak's stock will surge in the MVP discussion.

Then, in turn, the Cowboys will hopefully book themselves for a return trip to the postseason, notching back-to-back trips for the first time since 2006-2007. If they don't embrace a Dak-led offensive attack, it's difficult to see the team overcoming all of its costly early-season mistakes with a less than dominant Elliott paving the way.