OXNARD, Calif. -- Dak Prescott has modest goals for Saturday's preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams.

"I just basically want to do what I've been doing at practice," the Dallas Cowboys' rookie quarterback said. "There's no difference between practice and a game. I treat every time, every situation the same when I have a football in my hand."

But Saturday will be different. It will be the first NFL game of any kind inside the Los Angeles Coliseum since Dec. 24, 1994. It will be the return of the Rams to Los Angeles after 21 years in St. Louis. It will likely feature one of the biggest crowds the NFL will see this season.

It will also be Prescott's first game.

Prescott might not start but he will certainly play a lot. Tony Romo has not played in a preseason opener since 2012, with head coach Jason Garrett easing the veteran into action to make sure he is prepared for the regular-season opener.

With a solid performance, Prescott can show owner and general manager Jerry Jones and the coaches he just might be ready to be Romo's top backup.

Despite losing Kellen Moore for three to four months with a broken fibula, the Cowboys have put their search for a veteran backup quarterback on hold. In the meantime, Prescott and Jameill Showers have received more action -- with Prescott running the first-team offense during Romo's days off.

Jones went so far as to say he would be willing to hold off on adding a veteran based on what he saw in last week's Blue/White scrimmage from Prescott and Showers.

But Saturday will be different and the pace will change.

"What we try to do is create an environment for our players that's as game-like as possible, and that's why we do the different things we do in practice," Garrett said. "We'll play tackle football Saturday night. The quarterbacks will be live and we all know what the game tempo is in the National Football League. It'll certainly go up a notch from this practice environment, but one of the things we really try to do as coaches is re-create that environment the best we can."

Since the start of training camp, Prescott has been able to quicken his pace. Early he would hesitate with throws, even in a walk-through. Over the past week he has moved quickly through his progressions and let the ball go.

Running the two-minute drill on Tuesday with the first-team offense, he completed five of six passes. His only incompletion was when he spiked the ball to stop the clock. On Wednesday, he completed three of six passes in the two-minute drill; all of his incompletions came when he spiked the ball to stop the clock.

Garrett has noticed Showers playing faster as well.

"They're very conscientious," Garrett said. "They understand these are very important reps for them and in many cases the first reps they're getting with the plays that they're running. But they're prepared and they study hard and they watch the tape. They spend extra time in the meeting room and then when they start getting these reps, and you have a little more experience, you see things maybe a little more clearly.

"Each of those guys have been cutting the ball loose from that standpoint. Is it a day-to-day thing? Sometimes it is. That doesn't mean he's got it. He doesn't have it. You have to go out there every day and earn it and do it the right way. But their approach is the right way and you can see those guys grow."

Prescott started 26 games over his final two seasons at Mississippi State. He had 56 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions in the Southeastern Conference. He played in front of crowds of 80,000 or 90,000.

"You only see the first level anyways, unless you look up, trying to look at all the people," Prescott said. "Just at our position especially, you've got so much going on in the game that you can't focus on how many people are there. It doesn't really matter."

What will matter is how he handles the experience. He has handled it well at practice. Now he gets to see another team for the first time.

"I'm excited," Prescott said. "It's just something you dream about as a little kid growing up and I wanted to play in this league at this level."