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For the third straight week, the Dallas Cowboys got it done.

It hasn't always been pretty, and it hasn't come against particularly stiff competition, but Dallas has moved to 3-1 despite the absence of a slew of key players on both sides of the ball.

Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo has yet to see the field, superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant has contributed just 11 catches and stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith has missed the last two games. Suspended defenders DeMarcus Lawrence, Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory remained sidelined Sunday, as did injured cornerback Orlando Scandrick.

Yet despite falling behind 14-0 in a cross-country road game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys stormed back to get it done by a score of 24-17.

Romo's supposedly temporary replacement, rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott, has given his team enough to win each of its first four games. If not for a clock-management gaffe by wide receiver Terrance Williams late in a one-point Week 1 loss to the New York Giants, the Cowboys might still be perfect.

It's fair to hold your applause until after the Cowboys have beaten some clear-cut contenders.

Prescott and Co. have victories over the Redskins, Bears and 49ers, none of whom have played well this season. Washington started slow despite winning the NFC East last year, Chicago has been ravaged by injuries and San Francisco has now lost three in a row. The Bears and 49ers likely won't sniff the playoffs.

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But you also can't blame the Cowboys for their schedule, and the fact is they've beaten two of those teams on the road. Winning away from home is never easy. Try doing it with a rookie quarterback, a rookie running back and a depleted defense. Or against a reigning division champion (Washington). Or despite facing a 14-0 first-half deficit (San Francisco).

The key might be that the Dallas offense has kept it simple, remaining disciplined and focused with so many losses to overcome.

Incredibly, Prescott has yet to commit a turnover. He's taken 290 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He's thrown 131 passes. No interceptions, no fumbles.

That short-handed defense might have only five takeaways, but the short-handed offense has turned the ball over just twice in four games.

Prescott has now completed 67.9 percent of his passes and has a healthy average of 7.7 yards per attempt. Five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing), no turnovers and a 98.5 passer rating. He's been a revelation, sans support.

What's scary is that's starting to change.

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After averaging only 3.3 yards per carry during the first two games of his NFL career, rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for 140 yards on 30 carries against the Bears and another 138 yards on 23 attempts Sunday in San Francisco. The Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite had 157 yards from scrimmage while scoring his third touchdown of the year.

Elliott will only get better. Bryant, who has a knee injury that doesn't appear to be serious (per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport), should be back soon. Lawrence is eligible to return from his suspension this week, and Scandrick (hamstring) and Smith (back) could also return in Week 5.

Eventually, Romo, too, will be healthy enough to return from his latest back injury.

If at that point Prescott has fallen back to earth, the Cowboys can plug the four-time Pro Bowler back in. If Prescott is still rolling, they'll have a good problem on their hands.

Regardless, there's little reason to believe the Cowboys can't contend. Non-contenders don't string together three straight wins without players who are as important as Romo, Bryant, Smith et al. They don't typically beat division champions away from home, and they don't typically come back from two-score deficits on the road.

Fewest turnovers through 4 games Team Turnovers Cowboys 2 Falcons 2 Raiders 2 Bills 2 Patriots 4 Lions 4 Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Few would have blamed the Cowboys if they had lost to San Francisco, especially after the defense allowed Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers to score touchdowns on back-to-back long drives to start Sunday's game.

Combine that with a rare missed field goal from Dallas kicker Dan Bailey, and it just didn't seem like it was going to be the Cowboys' day.

At what seemed like their lowest point of the afternoon, the Cowboys faced a 1st-and-20 from their 24-yard line late in the first half, thanks to a Doug Free holding penalty. But Prescott hit Elliott on a picturesque screen for 19 yards, they converted on the next play and three minutes later, a 20-yard Prescott-to-Williams touchdown strike made it a game.

The defense fed off that momentum shift with a three-and-out, enabling Prescott and the offense to run an impeccable two-minute drill in order to tie the game seconds before halftime.

From that 19-yard play to Elliott forward, Prescott was 18-of-24 for 207 yards (8.6 yards per attempt) and a 128.9 passer rating. In the second half, Elliott averaged 6.4 yards per carry, which is a big reason why Dallas controlled the ball for 61 percent of the game.

It was the Prescott and Elliott Show as Dallas badly outplayed an inferior opponent on both sides of the ball throughout the second half.

Now the Cowboys will have a chance to silence critics who say they've yet to beat anyone good. They host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 before traveling to Green Bay to play the Packers in Week 6. Win one of those games, and you're officially a team to watch as we approach November and December. Win them both, and you might come out of that Week 7 bye as the best team in the NFC.

For now, though, they're just getting it done. What more can you ask of them?

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.