ARLINGTON -- Dak Prescott didn't throw six touchdown passes last weekend like Patrick Mahomes did for the Kansas City Chiefs. He didn't pass for 425 yards like Kirk Cousins did for the Minnesota Vikings. And he didn't lead the Cowboys on a closing-minute, game-winning drive like Drew Brees did for the New Orleans Saints.

Prescott's 160 yards on 16-of-25 passing against the New York Giants were quite pedestrian by Sunday's NFL quarterbacking standards. But his value as a quarterback can best be measured by one statistic -- zero turnovers Sunday night in a 20-13 victory.

Prescott doesn't beat himself. Ball security was a premium with him in college, and it remains a premium now in the NFL. Sunday night was the 19th time in 34 career NFL starts that he did not commit a turnover. The Cowboys are 18-1 in those games.

In the one loss -- the 2016 season finale at Philadelphia -- Prescott played only 16 minutes and threw just eight passes before the starters were pulled to preserve them for the playoffs. The Cowboys were the top seed in the NFC with a 13-3 record, and Jason Garrett wasn't going to risk injury to his stars, so the head coach opted not to give Prescott the chance to win that game. Prescott left with the score tied 3-3, before the Eagles went on to thump the Dallas backups, 27-13.

At Mississippi State, Prescott set a school record by throwing 288 consecutive passes without an interception and left campus with the fourth-best interception percentage in SEC history. Then he set an NFL record with 176 consecutive passes to start his career without an interception. So his poor throws have always been rare.

Prescott committed a turnover in only six of the Cowboys' 16 games in 2016 on his way to the Pro Bowl and NFL Rookie of the Year honors. The Cowboys were 9-1 in games that he did not commit a turnover. Then in 2017, when the Cowboys struggled at times with a 9-7 record, they didn't struggle when Prescott played error-free football. Of the nine Dallas victories, Prescott did not commit a turnover in eight of them.

When Prescott doesn't beat himself with turnovers, the Cowboys as a team are difficult to beat. And that's exactly what this defense needs -- a quarterback who won't put them in bad field positions with interceptions and fumbles. The Cowboys have the second-youngest starting lineup in the NFL and can be offensively challenged at times. But they have the potential to be dominant on defense in 2018 -- especially if Prescott doesn't give them any short fields to defend.

"It goes to his mentality about being a winning quarterback," Garrett said. "It's not really about him. It's about understanding how each play fits into the game. It's incumbent upon us to make sure he doesn't feel he has to force things and make plays himself. He has a pretty good command and takes care of the ball pretty well."

His legs help Prescott escape sacks, which minimizes the chances for fumbles. He didn't take any sacks against the Giants. And New York defenders were able to get a hand on only two of his 25 passes. Linebacker Conner Barwin batted away a slant route late in the second quarter to Allen Hurns and cornerback Donte Deayon leaped to get a hand on a fade route in the end zone to Cole Beasley midway through the fourth quarter.

That was it.

During one stretch in the first half, Prescott completed only 3 of 10 passes for 17 yards. He threw three of the passes away under pressure, was long and wide on a go route to Deonte Thompson and high -- make that very high -- on a sideline pass to tight end Rico Gathers. If a teammate wasn't going to catch the ball, Prescott made sure no one else would, either. He is one quarterback who doesn't come bearing gifts for defenses.

Offense sells tickets in football, and most fans would love to have a quarterback who can fling the ball for 300 yards every week. But it's not about the yards. There have been 19 300-yard passers through the NFL's first two weekends. Only six of those 19 managed to win their games. Three hundred yards? Give me the zero turnovers.

Jimmy Johnson, the last guy to build a championship team in Dallas, authored one of my favorite coaching lines: "It's not how many good plays you make, it's how many bad plays you don't make that wins football games."

When Prescott doesn't make any bad plays, the Cowboys win.

Twitter: @RickGosselin9