FRISCO -- An unexpected rise in the standings has created a rush to identify the reasons for the Cowboys' reversal.

Ezekiel Elliott's dominance, a resurgent offensive line, the impact of Amari Cooper and the emergence of the Wolf Hunter -- known as Leighton Vander Esch in some circles -- in an already strong defense gets the most traction. All are legitimate.

But let's narrow the scope a bit. The Cowboys boast a winning streak, modest as it is, for the first time this season because of their play in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Dak Prescott led the offense on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the final eight minutes for the winning points against Philadelphia. He came back against Atlanta to engineer a 10-play, 51-yard drive in the final 1:52 to set up Brett Maher's game-winning field goal as time expired.

"Yeah, I want the ball in my hands," said Prescott, who has now led seven game-winning drives in the fourth quarter in his Cowboys career. "Always have, always will."

The Cowboys have scored 30 points in the fourth quarter during this two-game winning streak. That qualifies as an eruption for this offense.

The team scored just 28 fourth-quarter points in the first month of the season. It scraped together only 23 points in that frame in October.

But Dallas has now scored four touchdowns and a field goal on its last seven fourth-quarter possessions. Sunday afternoon, after seeing a 10-point lead evaporate, Prescott picked up a third-down conversion to rookie Michael Gallup on a comeback route when double coverage took away the option route to Cole Beasley. Four plays later, he spotted Beasley isolated on the middle linebacker and hit him with a pass for 19 yards to set up Maher's winning field goal.

"It was a great drive," Prescott said. "The offensive line protected.

"We do that two-minute [offense], in different situations, each and every week. It was just preparation and practice paying off right there."

Prescott completed 8 of 11 passes for 75 yards and had a 4-yard touchdown run in the final period of Sunday's game.

"He obviously responded well, made some big plays in that drive, made a lot of little plays in that drive," head coach Jason Garrett said. "He moved in the pocket, the guys moved for him, protection was good, guys competed for the ball, and obviously got us in position to kick the game winner.

"I thought he played really well in the game, and I thought he played really well at the critical moments."

Prescott did the same one week earlier. The score was tied at 13-all entering the final period. Prescott completed 7 of 8 passes for 88 yards in that one, and had completions of 17, 24 and 23 yards on the decisive drive.

The Cowboys have also done a better job of getting the ball to Elliott. He touched the ball only four times in the fourth quarter of the loss to Washington. The team came out of the bye week and got the ball to him only once in the final period of its loss to Tennessee.

Elliott touched the ball nine times for 43 yards in the fourth quarter of the win over the Eagles and scored two touchdowns. He carried the ball six times for 39 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 13 yards in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win.

"As the game goes on, our ability to run the football, control the line of scrimmage and give him the rock, that's big," Garrett said. "We built our team that way.

"He wants the ball in his hands at critical moments, and typically he comes through."

Prescott agrees that he's playing with more confidence than he has for much of the season. He credits the mindset of the offensive line, not just for himself but for the rest of offense. He also points to the impact Cooper has had in his brief time with the team.

"When you step in that huddle, it's contagious," Prescott said of the confidence the offensive line instills. "But then again, just having a consistent rotation outside and knowing what guys are good at ...

"The team is just really picking up. Everyone is buying into their role, no matter what it is, no matter how big it is or how small it is on offense, defense and special teams. We're all coming together.

"We're all playing more comfortable and better complimentary football."

That's been evident late in games.

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host a special Thanksgiving Week edition of Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) Tuesday from 7-8 p.m.