Trent Dilfer breaks down how Dak Prescott is ramping up his arsenal as an NFL quarterback and how the Raiders will adjust with Matt McGloin at QB. (2:51)

ARLINGTON, Texas -- If the Dallas Cowboys were prosecuting a case for their Super Bowl worthiness, they made some persuasive arguments under the Monday night lights. They gave you Dez Bryant catching and throwing touchdown passes, Ezekiel Elliott making like Ezekiel Elliott behind that freak offensive line and even their punter, Chris Jones, blasting a return man into next week.

This was America's Team living the American dream at the Detroit Lions' expense, and it sure looks like nobody in the NFC -- not even a white-hot Aaron Rodgers -- is capable of stopping Dallas in the postseason. And with too many people obsessing over the state of Tony Romo's crumbling body and whether owner Jerry Jones needs to get him ready for who knows what, it was a fine time to remember that none of this would be possible without Dak Prescott's poise.

That's still the Cowboys' most valuable weapon, you know: their quarterback's stunning maturity.

Perhaps the world's most recognizable Cowboys fan, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, visited Prescott at his locker after the rookie threw three touchdown passes in Monday's 42-21 victory and told him, "There's a quarterback controversy now. It's Dez."

Christie grew up in Jersey wanting to be Roger Staubach, and after he left the Dallas locker room, he told ESPN.com that he is amazed by the way Prescott has managed the burdens that come tethered to perhaps the highest-profile job in sports.

"The guy every week just sounds under control and looks under control on the field, and it really is extraordinary," Christie said. "He's only going to get better, and I think it says a lot about kids who stay in school all four years. He had five years at Mississippi State, and he came in ready to respond to the pressure he's under week after week.

"He has one OK game [against the Giants] in New Jersey and everybody's calling for his head. And to see the way he responded the next week [against the Buccaneers], not just the way he played but how he controlled himself, he didn't let it get to him. He's got Romo sitting right there near him in the locker room, and he knows Jerry will do what he needs to do to win. But you see the way the kid deals with [reporters], so poised and smart and not just giving robo-answers. He answers questions in a really calm, mature way. They've got a winner."

Rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott has led the Cowboys to a 13-2 season and the 1-seed in the NFC. Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports

A historic winner, too. Prescott's 13th victory tied him with Ben Roethlisberger for most ever by a rookie. Asked to define the significance of the milestone, Prescott said, "It means I've got to go get 14."

Right answer. Wearing his bow tie at a postgame news conference, Prescott made it clear he wants to play against the Eagles in Philadelphia for his final regular-season game, and why not? He has completed 47 of 56 passes over the past two weeks. And he spent most of Monday night spiking the notion that he's merely a master of the dink-and-dunk arts. (According to ESPN Stats & Information data, Prescott was 5-of-6 for 113 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit on passes of at least 15 yards; he'd had three such touchdown passes in his previous seven games combined.)

Prescott dismissed the suggestion that Detroit -- still trying to nail down a bid to the tournament -- had far more to play for than the home team did.

"If you're a competitor," he said, "you want to win. That's enough to play for, simple as that."

He credited his offensive coordinator, offensive line and receivers for making him look good. If the Cowboys quarterback sounded a bit like Tom Brady at the microphone, there's a reason.

Prescott is every bit as poised in 2016 as Brady was in 2001. This isn't to say that Prescott is destined for long-term greatness, for a legacy seat in Brady's ballpark. But just like Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana were the ultimate standards for young hopefuls of bygone generations, Brady is the benchmark for today's up-and-comers.

"The guy every week just sounds under control and looks under control on the field, and it really is extraordinary. He's only going to get better." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Cowboys superfan

And in terms of intellect and temperament, Prescott seems to have a lot of Brady to his game. The comparison goes far beyond the fact that Prescott and Brady were draft room afterthoughts who replaced injured stars in Tony Romo and Drew Bledsoe.

"The analogy is pretty striking if you think about it," former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis told ESPN.com in October.

"If you want to draw a parallel, it's very similar to Tommy in 2001. We didn't start too fast with Tommy -- similar to what they've done with Dak -- didn't give him too much early, and then it grew from there."

It's grown into something nobody outside of the Prescott household would have believed. At 23, the Cowboys quarterback has appeared in the same number of regular season games (15) that a 24-year-old Brady appeared in during his breakout season in 2001. Without the benefit of Brady's one-year NFL apprenticeship on the bench, Prescott has put up much better numbers than New England's quarterback did in 2001.

Brady completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns; Prescott has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 3,630 yards and 23 touchdowns. Brady was intercepted 12 times and sacked 41 times; Prescott has been intercepted four times and sacked 25 times. Brady had an 11-3 record (his first appearance came in late relief of Bledsoe) and an 86.5 quarterback rating; Prescott has a 13-2 record and a 105.6 rating. Brady averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt; Prescott has averaged 8.0 yards. Brady rushed for 43 yards and no touchdowns; Prescott has rushed for 273 yards and six touchdowns.

Prescott has 23 touchdown passes to only four interceptions, and he has rushed for six scores. EPA/Larry W. Smith

And still there were times this season when Jones sounded as eager to get Romo healthy and back under center as he once was to draft Johnny Manziel. Prescott ignored the noise from his owner and silenced those who agreed with Jones by never flinching. On Monday night, he was facing a desperate Lions team and a veteran quarterback, Matthew Stafford, who is dying to finally win a playoff game. Prescott showed no less urgency than Stafford did. He opened the scoring with a 21-yard throw to Brice Butler and closed it with a 19-yard throw to Bryant.

Some fans chanted for Romo to take the field in the final minutes of the blowout, but their request was denied. Jones said throwing the veteran out there for a handful of plays "would not be worth the risk."

Whatever. At this point, Romo has been reduced to an irrelevant talking point. Prescott has made him another Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

The kid has been that good, that smart, that steady. The Cowboys have a lot of different ways to beat you, especially on offense, and they showed off all of them against the overmatched Lions. But if Dak Prescott had played this season like the fourth-rounder he was in the spring, the Cowboys would likely be a one-and-done wild-card team, at best.

Prescott instead performed and carried himself like an instant franchise player. If Dallas wins the whole thing for the first time in forever, rest assured that No. 4 will be the No. 1 reason why.