FRISCO – Dak Prescott walked to the team bus at Allegiant Stadium with a noticeable bounce in his step Monday night. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback had every reason for it, too, after a dominant 33–16 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas.

But also on display: The slightest hint of a limp, revealing what I’m told is likely a bruised hip. Nothing too serious, mind you. Just part-and-parcel with a playoff chase.

Yes, you read me right. The Cowboys, even after the “Monday Night Football” win, are a modest 4-5-1. But their best all-around performance of the season, plus the influx of talent recently added to the defense and the emotional inspiration from the recent demise of teammate Marshawn Kneeland, suddenly has them thinking …

“Why not?’’ as Prescott told us when asked if his team can accomplish something “special.”

There are some hard-line answers to that question. Why not? Well, in part because their next three games are against the defending Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles (8-2), the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) and the Detroit Lions (6-4), last season’s top seed in the NFC.

Dallas figures to be an underdog in each of those outings.

“Yeah, I think so,’’ first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer told us when asked if the upcoming three-game stretch will be especially revealing.

But, he also added, “I want to play the good teams and find out where we truly are. … We’ll know a little bit more in the next 12 days, 11 days. I think we’ll answer that question in a very positive way.”

It can be argued that Dallas is a different team than it was two weeks ago, with a breakthrough driven by the presence of All-Pro defensive newcomer Quinnen Williams, acquired at the deadline in a trade with the Jets. He set the tone with 1.5 sacks and a career-high five QB hits. Dallas’ much-maligned defense allowed a season-low 16 points and tied its season high with four sacks. With inspiration from the season debut of electric linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and a host of other new helpers.

If Dallas plays defense like this (yes, we know, it was “only the Raiders’’)? And pairs it with a league-leading offense led by Prescott, who had a four-touchdown outing in Vegas?

A Cowboys fan can squint really hard, ignore the computers that insist Dallas has only a single-digit percentage of a playoff chance, and buy into what Prescott is selling.

“It was a dominating win,” Prescott said postgame before climbing aboard that bus. “If we play that way, I don’t care who it is. … there’s no reason we can’t be confident and feel like we’re going to come out on top if we can play with that same intensity and effort and complement (each other).’’

It will help the cause if Dak’s weaponry can consistently accomplish what was achieved in Vegas. Here, receiver George Pickens (with his nine-catch, 144-yard, one-touchdown night), receiver CeeDee Lamb (five for 66 and a score), and running back Javonte Williams (a season-high 22 carries for 93 yards) created a pick-your-poison problem for the opponent.

All in all, Schottenheimer labeled this effort his team’s most “poised” and consistent outing of the 2025 season.

“It was probably the most poised I’ve seen our team, in terms of ‘Let’s go play.’ It’s 60 minutes, and they played free,’’ he said. “I think there’s a confidence we have in one another.

“Was it perfect? Nope, absolutely not. A lot of things we looked at were like, ‘Got to clean that up, got to tighten that up.’ But I use the word a lot in here because it’s real: we were the most consistent, probably, [in a] game that we played all season long.”

The math problem facing Dallas in its uphill climb toward true playoff contention? Even after this win, there are only five teams in the 16-team NFC with fewer wins than the Cowboys.

How do they overcome the triple-gauntlet of Philly, KC, and Detroit to emerge as a team with a postseason shot? Actually, to paraphrase Schottenheimer, “perfect’’ would be nice.

Realistically, though, it’ll be about overcoming flaws and hiding limps … just like the one that had Dak Prescott moving just a bit slower than usual into that Nevada night.