ARLINGTON, Texas _ The Dallas Cowboys had nothing to play for Monday night.
Their playoff fate had already been decided.
They had already secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason and the NFC East title.
Sure, they could tie the franchise record for wins, but that was never the goal.
But in testament to the fight that coach Jason Garrett has instilled in them as well as the sheer joy they have been playing with all season, the 42-21 victory against the Detroit Lions might have been their finest moment.
The Lions (9-6) needed the win to secure a playoff berth.
The Cowboys (13-3) battled from a 21-14 second-quarter deficit with 28 consecutive points to blow the doors off AT&T Stadium, while re-asserting themselves as the Super Bowl favorites out of the NFC.
The fun and dominance was typified most by receiver Dez Bryant's X-filled night. He caught four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns and also threw the first touchdown pass of his career, a 10-yarder to tight end Jason Witten on a reverse pass with the left hand, resulting on both players throwing up the trade mark X celebration in the end zone.
But nothing could top the season-long feel good story of rookie quarterback Dak Prescot, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards with three touchdowns and a career-high quarterback rating of 148.3.
Prescott set a new franchise record with his 11th game with a quarterback rating over 100.0, breaking a tie with former starter Tony Romo.
Most important, in leading the Cowboys to their franchise-record tying 13th win of the season, Prescott got his 13th as well, tying Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger for the most wins in NFL history by a rookie.
Prescott has a chance to break the record as well as well as help the Cowboys reach a new franchise high for wins in the season final against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Of course, the big question will be whether the Cowboys will play to win against the Eagles or rest their starters to avoid injury heading into the playoffs.
And whether Romo will get some playing time to shed some rust in case he is needed in the postseason.
Of course, that was part of the thought process heading into Monday's game.
Garrett directed his team to play to win.
There were some early struggles on defense because the unit was playing without defensive ends Tyrone Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence and defensive tackle Cedric Thornton because of injuries and then lost tackle Terrell McClain and end Ryan Davis in the game. They also lost cornerback Anthony Brown to a concussion.
The Lions scored on their first three drives to take a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.
But when the Cowboys defense finally settled in, they shut out the Lions in second half.
The Cowboys defense had four sacks, an interception and forced fumble _ giving them multiple sacks and multiple turnovers for the third consecutive game after not getting any at all through the first 12 games of the season.
The Lions had just 127 yards in the second half after totaling 192 in the first two quarters.
Once defense settled in, Prescott and Bryant continued their own brand of fun.
Prescott tossed touchdown passes of 21 to receiver Brice Butler on the opening drive and 25 and 19 to Bryant.
The first one to Bryant was one-handed grab with his left hand in the left corner of the end zone with a defensive back draped all over him.
The second one was a back shoulder fade in the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys their final points.
Bryant also set up 1-yard score by running back Ezekiel Elliott to open the third quarter when he drew a 31-yard pass interference penalty.
Elliott also had a 55-yard touchdown run in the first quarter when he thrilled the crowd by coping Bryant's X celebration, as well celebrations by receivers Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams.
But the real excitement came in the third quarter when offensive coordinator Scott Linehan opened up the playbook on first and goal at the 10.
Prescott pitched the ball to a reversing Bryant rolling left. He then threw a touchdown pass to a wide open Witten.
Fun was had all round. But for the Cowboys, the real party doesn't start until the playoffs.
