Dak Prescott barks at his teammates a little more now th

at he's a couple of years removed from a sensational rookie year with the Dallas Cowboys.At least that's the way tight end Geoff Swaim put it Dallas Cowboys Hats , and he didn't mean it in a negative way. The star quarterback sure hopes so."I may be a little bit more vocal," Prescott said. "But when you say 'barking,' it's almost like at a negative tone. Like, you're going out at them hard. I'd say if anything, I'm trying to be more encouraging and bring more out of them."When you have a young team and different personalities, it's hard just to be negative and be critical the whole time. For me, it's a lot about coaching the guys up. And then the guys that I know I can be critical on, yeah, sure I am."The 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who opens the season Sunday at Carolina trying to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs after they missed during his less-than-stellar encore , just illustrated offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's take on leadership from Prescott.Sure, this 25-year-old with a master's degree in workforce education leadership from Mississippi State is the unquestioned commander of the offense — and that includes over running back Ezekiel Elliott, his fellow first-year standout from 2016.But it's not necessarily because of the retirement of Tony Romo, the quarterback he replaced with one of the best debuts for a quarterback in NFL history.Or because 15-year tight end Jason Witten joined Romo in the broadcast booth this year. Or because the Cowboys dumped boisterous receiver Dez Bryant, the franchise leader in touchdown catches, in a cost-cutting move.Since Prescott showed up as the forgotten third-teamer on Romo's team two years ago, he has shown the leadership qualities that suddenly became more pronounced. He was a natural to become the face of the franchise , and would be by himself if not for linebacker Sean Lee."He's always been a guy that Dallas Cowboys Hoodie , even as a rookie, he was not afraid to speak up and give his two cents on the field and encourage guys," Linehan said. "He's a natural when it comes to that."Prescott led the Cowboys to 11 straight wins after Romo injured his back in the preseason in 2016, when Dallas had an NFC-best 13 victories before losing to Green Bay in a divisional playoff.Elliott's six-game suspension marred their second season together, and Prescott felt the burden of the absence.The poor decisions he avoided as a rookie were more frequent, including an ill-advised throw that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown in a late-season loss to Seattle that finished off Dallas' playoff hopes in Elliott's first game back.The theme last season was whether Prescott could avoid a sophomore slump, a term he brushed off. Now it's whether he can have a bounce-back season, if there is such a thing for a young quarterback."You can call it whatever you call it," he said. "I'm excited for what we're going to have and the year we're going to have and I feel very, very confident in the players we have and the team we have and what we're going to do this season."There are questions, starting with a revamped receiving corps that lacks the star power brought by Witten and Bryant.The Cowboys say they'll attack the passing game with versatility, hoping to take advantage of one-on-one matchups with opponents focusing first on stopping Elliott, the league rushing leader when Prescott was voted the top offensive rookie.There are two new starters on Dallas' vaunted offensive line. Joe Looney is replacing Travis Frederick at center while the four-time Pro Bowler recovers from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disease that attacks nerves. He doesn't know when he will return. Rookie second-round pick Connor Williams is at left guard.Despite the questions, Prescott is determined not to try to do too much again."I know I'll be better," he said. "I just learned so much from last year, just moving forward, mature within the game Customized Dallas Cowboys Jerseys , just learned a lot more that I didn't know last year that I wasn't as comfortable with. Just reads, my game on footwork, accuracy and consistency, everything."Learning isn't stopping him from coaching, as he put it."I think as a rookie it was more encouraging and that kind of thing," Swaim said. "This year, the barking, it's not like he's screaming and yelling. That's not his thing. It's more just, 'Hey, this is what you need to do here.' And it's good because it keeps everyone focused and in their role and doing their job."Prescott just wants you to know it's not negative. Amari Cooper's impact on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has been dramatic.The new No. 1 receiver for the Cowboys shook up the NFC East race, too.Prescott threw his third touchdown pass to Cooper on the first possession of overtime, and the Cowboys took a big step toward the division title with a 29-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.On third down, Rasul Douglas tipped the pass into the air by getting inside the slant route, and Cooper grabbed it and had a clear path to the end zone from the Philadelphia 7 for the 15-yard score. The Cowboys used almost all of the 10-minute overtime, scoring with 1:55 remaining."I knew I had the slant route there, but I knew he would sit on it," Cooper said. "I tried to sell the fade. It didn't really work, but I just stayed with the ball and there you have it."By winning the third overtime game in the past four seasons at A&T Stadium between these division rivals www.authenticsdallascowboys.com , the Cowboys (8-5) won their fifth straight game and took a two-game lead over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (6-7) and Washington with three games left.Carson Wentz threw for three touchdowns, including a pair of tying scores in the fourth quarter. But he never got a chance in overtime because Prescott engineered a 13-play, 75-yard drive.Prescott overcame two interceptions and a lost fumble to set career highs in completions (42), attempts (54) and yards passing (455)."Helpless feeling," Wentz said. "I've got a lot of lot of confidence in the defense. They were making plays today. We just didn't do enough early offensively and that cost us."The Cowboys dominated almost from the start, but let the Eagles stay close to set up a wild fourth quarter. Dallas, which can clinch the NFC East title with a win at Indianapolis next Sunday, finished with 576 yards, the most since gaining 578 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.Cooper finished with a career-high 217 yards receiving on 10 catches in his second game in the past three with at least 180 yards and two scores. All three of Cooper's touchdowns 鈥?the others from 75 and 28 yards 鈥?were in the fourth quarter and overtime.Acquired from Oakland for a 2019 first-round draft pick seven games into the season, Cooper leads the NFL with 642 yards receiving since Week 9, his first game with the Cowboys. He had nine catches for 190 yards after halftime.The Cowboys went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 19 in overtime and got it with a 1-yard plunge from Ezekiel Elliott, who had 192 yards from scrimmage on 40 touches 鈥?28 carries for 113 yards and 12 catches for 79.Cooper converted a pair of third downs on the winning drive. The first one was big, too 鈥?a 12-yarder on third-and-9 from the Philadelphia 40."I was almost I guess I would say astonished that we were able to get that trade," said Prescott, whose has seen a significant jump in completion percentage, yards per game and passer rating in six games with Cooper."So I guess if you say that, when we're getting a trade, well Dallas Cowboys T-Shirt , what's wrong? And then to get him and see everything turning out and playing out the way it is, we're very, very fortunate."Brett Maher set a Dallas franchise record with a 62-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and had three field goals.The game went from a defensive struggle with missed Dallas opportunities that kept the Eagles close to a wild fourth-quarter shootout.Wentz thought he had answered the 75-yard touchdown to Cooper with 3:01 remaining with a matching 75-yarder to tight end Dallas Goedert.But Goedert was called for pass interference, apparently for pushing off against Jeff Heath before bouncing off a helmet-to-helmet hit from Xavier Woods that wasn't called and running to the end zone from midfield.Philadelphia scored anyway, with Wentz leading a more methodical march to his third touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to Darren Sproles for a 23-23 tie with 1:39 to go in regulation.Douglas had the first interception of Prescott in the first half, but couldn't get a second hand on the ball for the depleted Philadelphia secondary against Cooper with the game on the line."I played it perfectly," he said. "I couldn't get the other hand in there to get the pick. I tried to bat it down."DEJA VUTwo years ago, the Cowboys won by the same score with a touchdown on the first possession of overtime. Prescott was on his way to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and Elliott went on to win the league rushing title as a rookie. The 12-play, 75-yard drive took 7:12 and was capped by Prescott's 5-yard TD to now-retired tight end Jason Witten.LOPSIDED STATS, CLOSE GAMEThe Cowboys outgained the Eagles 576-256 and had twice as many first downs (32-16). Dallas ran 93 plays to 48 for Philadelphia and had the ball for 45:33 compared to 22:32 for the Eagles."Give them credit for fighting and scratching and clawing and doing the things necessary to stay in the ballgame," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.INJURIESCowboys RG Zack Martin left in the second half with a knee injury. The four-time Pro Bowler has been battling a knee issue all season. ... Philadelphia RB Corey Clement injured his right knee when he was stopped for a 4-yard loss late in the first quarter and didn't return. ... Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat left in the first half with an ankle injury and didn't return.UP NEXTEagles: At LA Rams next Sunday.Cowboys: At Indianapolis next Sunday. Custom New York Giants Jerseys