Dak Prescott forwards his MVP chances at Cowboys edge Seahawks

The Cowboys’ 41-35 win over the Seahawks proved one thing: If you don’t have Dak Prescott as your MVP frontrunner, you’re not paying attention.

Coming into Thursday night’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle was 36-0 in games in which they had scored 35 or more points.

Now, they’re 36-1. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put up a valiant performance, completing 23 of 41 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 97.0. With no run game to speak of — Kenneth Walker was out with an oblique injury, and Zach Charbonnet left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee concern — it was all up to Smith to keep up with the Cowboys.

Smith’s performance would have made it work against most teams and most quarterbacks, but not the Cowboys and Prescott right now. In Dallas’ 41-35 win, Prescott completed 29 of 41 passes for three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 115.8.

We’ve talked a lot about how well Prescott has been playing since Dallas’ Week 7 bye, and since Week 8, he has 20 touchdown passes. C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers are tied for second with 10.

In this game, Prescott hit three different targets — receivers CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, and tight end Jake Ferguson — for touchdowns.

There is an aura of inevitability about Prescott’s play right now. No matter how much the opposing team scores, you just have the feeling that Prescott will find a way to match and exceed his opponents’ efforts.

As for the Seahawks, it was a frustrating game at a lot of levels. Head coach Pete Carroll was apoplectic at times with referee Clete Blakeman and his officiating crew, and for good reason. But in the end, they were left to deal with the fact that the Cowhoys are the better team, and Prescott is the better quarterback.

And at this point, if you’re not speaking his name as the prohibitive MVP favorite, you’re simply not paying attention.