FRISCO - San Francisco defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil prepared the 49ers the last two weeks for two of the NFL's top quarterbacks in Carolina's Cam Newton and Seattle's Russell Wilson.

Is he looking forward to facing a rookie this week in Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott?

"No," O'Neil said Tuesday. "He's playing really well right now. He's not playing like a rookie quarterback. He's playing like a quarterback that's been in the league for four or five years."

Prescott has exceeded all expectations through three games. But if you're handing out pats on the back, don't forget to include offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

Linehan and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett haven't stuck with the dink-and-dunk approach they used in Tony Romo's absence last season that led to a 1-11 record with backup quarterbacks playing.

Instead, they've added new wrinkles that maximize Prescott's skill set.

Last year, the Cowboys never really adapted their Romo-friendly offense to fit their other quarterbacks. They just went the conservative route, choosing to play not to lose more than attacking defenses.

That hasn't been the case with Prescott.

Dare we say this offense is now Dak-friendly?

The first two weeks, the Cowboys had Prescott on the move. They called run fakes to the left and bootlegged out of it to the right before completing passes downfield.

Prescott throws well on the run, something he often displayed at Mississippi State.

On Sunday against the Bears, the Cowboys called nine empty-set plays where Prescott was all alone in the backfield. That gave Prescott the option to run if the middle of the field was exposed.

Prescott is more comfortable in the shotgun with receivers five-wide. He was often in that position running Mississippi State's spread offense.

The Cowboys have also lined up running backs out wide and allowed Prescott to make a decision on what's the best option: a running back matched up against a linebacker in coverage or have the tailback motion into the backfield for a favorable run look.

Perhaps on Sunday at San Francisco we'll see another twist by the Cowboys' offense. Remember, they still have the read option in their hip pocket.

The Cowboys worked on the read option - also something Prescott often did in college - at times in training camp. Maybe that will give them another red zone weapon to help get the ball in the end zone instead of calling on kicker Dan Bailey.

"Hopefully as coaches we create an environment for our players to prepare the right way so they can go out and play really without thinking," Garrett said. "It's a matter of putting yourself in different situations really throughout the week so when you kick it off you can just go play. He's done a really good job of that."

Many of Prescott's biggest plays have come via the Cowboys' new offensive wrinkles.

He faked a handoff left and bootlegged right to complete a 28-yard pass to tight end Geoff Swaim against Washington to convert a 4th-and-1.

Against the Bears, Prescott completed a 47-yard pass to receiver Terrance Williams and a 17-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dez Bryant from empty sets.

"Dak gives the defense problems," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "They have to account for him in a lot of different ways. He just doesn't seem to get out of sorts."

Prescott's dual-threat ability has also helped the Cowboys improve on third downs. On the first play of the second quarter Sunday, Prescott converted a 3rd-and-3 by running 17 yards around left end.

The Cowboys have converted a league-high 52 percent on third down. That's similar to their success rate in 2014, when they ranked second at 47 percent.

And that's a far contrast from what the Cowboys' backup quarterbacks experienced last season on third down, ranking 27th in the NFL at 35 percent.

Give Linehan and Garrett credit for not settling for vanilla.

New England coach Bill Belichick was lauded last week for coaching third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett to a 27-0 win over Houston.

Shouldn't Garrett get some of the credit for Prescott's success thus far?

"Jason feels good about being the coach of the Dallas Cowboys. I feel good about it," Jones said after the win over Chicago. "I know that he knows and we all know that if we win these ballgames Jason Garrett will get a lot of credit."

Twitter: @DMN_George