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Dak Prescott isn't going to let The Tony Romo Question affect him

Dak Prescott is in a quarterback controversy whether he wants to be or not, but he’s not going to make the controversy bigger than it already is.

The most interesting story in the NFL right now is what the Dallas Cowboys are going to do at quarterback when Tony Romo is healthy enough to return. Even owner Jerry Jones seems unsure at this point. Prescott, a rookie fourth-round pick, has made it a tough decision by playing very well. Prescott has a 103.9 rating and the Cowboys are 5-1.

What Prescott won’t do is stir the flames by saying something controversial. Those flames will be hot with or without his help.

“As long as we’re winning games, that’s all that matters,” Prescott said when asked about Romo’s eventual return during a promotional interview tour for Buffalo Wild Wings’ Team Up For Kids program. “Of course I’m a competitor and I want to play, but as long as we’re winning then I’m happy.”

It has to be an interesting spot for Prescott to be in. The last time we had a quarterback controversy like this might have been Joe Montana and Steve Young with the San Francisco 49ers (although Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady with the New England Patriots might be a more comparable example). The relationship between Montana and Young was notoriously tense. There’s nothing like that with Prescott and Romo, the rookie said. He said Romo has gone out of his way to help him out.

“Me and Tony have had a great relationship,” Prescott said. “He’s been nothing but great to me.”

So here Prescott is, in the middle of a rookie season nobody could have dreamed up for him, and he could lose his job. If he does, it will be to the team’s long-time starter who has the third-best passer rating in NFL history. Or, Prescott will keep the job, usurping a guy who will some day be in a Hall-of-Fame discussion.

And all of this is happening in perhaps the most intense football market in the NFL.

While the football world debates what should and will happen, Prescott said it’s not on his mind. He said he never even hears about it unless the media asks.

“I really don’t think about it,” Prescott said about what might happen when Romo returns. “I just want to win. No matter what happens down the road, as long as we’re winning games I’m good with it.”

You can’t blame Prescott. He has no control over the situation, other than playing well. And he understands being an NFL quarterback is a full-time job and then some. That’s why he famously refused Kanye West concert tickets. Worrying about what happens later won’t help him play well now.

“It’s down the road,” Prescott said. “I like to live and think in the moment. Right now it’s my job and I have to be ready to play.”

Dak Prescott has helped the Dallas Cowboys to a 5-1 start (AP)
Dak Prescott has helped the Dallas Cowboys to a 5-1 start (AP)

What’s not debatable is that Prescott is having an unbelievable rookie season, as is fellow Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott. Everyone expected Elliott to have at least some success right away, as the fourth pick of the draft running behind a great offensive line. Prescott’s story is much different. He was Dallas’ third-string quarterback heading into camp. Then Kellen Moore and Romo got hurt. And then Prescott has played better than Jones or anyone associated with the Cowboys could have hoped.

“It has just been fun, it has been great,” Prescott said. “I’m just out here playing football, and I have great teammates and coaches who allow me to be myself. The credit goes to the play-calling and my teammates making plays, and it has truly been fun.”

Here’s what else has happened: Prescott has gone from a relative unknown outside of SEC football fans and draft-niks to one of the most recognizable faces in Dallas. Buffalo Wild Wings’ promotion was him inviting a restaurant full of people to watch a game played by kids from the Boys and Girls Club on a freshly renovated field in Grand Prairie, Texas. Everyone in the spot seemed to be in awe of Prescott. It would be fun to ask how many of those people could have even recognized him in July.

Who knows what will happen later this season or beyond that, but for now Prescott is enjoying the moment and helping out organizations like the Boys and Girls Club in the little free time he has.

“It’s huge for me to use my platform to support and give back, especially to the Boys and Girls Club,” Prescott said. “I don’t think about the star power I have, but hope to motivate and inspire someone.”

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!