On Saturday, Dak Prescott picked up right where he left off during his 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, once again coming out of the gates hot in the preseason for the Cowboys. 

This time around the element of surprise did not exist for Prescott, and there wasn't the presence of Ezekiel Elliott to assist his offensive attack (Elliott is sitting this preseason game out due to his looming suspension and appeal). Prescott didn't care. 

He opened up the Cowboys' first drive by carving up the soft underbelly of the Colts defense, hitting Dez Bryant for a 23-yard gain on the Cowboys' first play from scrimmage. Then he found Jason Witten for a pair of passes totaling 24 yards and, after a Darren McFadden run, he went way up top.

Prescott, as he did so many times last year, made it look effortless with a deep touchdown pass to Bryant.

When I ran my Madden 18 simulation for the 2017 season, I had the Cowboys deal with a Zeke suspension. Dallas didn't care in that fictional world, with Elliott throwing for more than 4,000 passing yards and 41 touchdowns en route to winning NFL MVP and leading the Cowboys to a 9-7 record.

It seems like an implausible outcome for real life, but then you watch Prescott behind that strong Cowboys offensive line, winging the ball all over the place and making short work of a questionable defensive secondary. If Bryant stays healthy, there's no reason this offense can't tread water while Elliott is out, however long the suspension ends up lasting. 

Many folks expect Prescott to take a step back in his sophomore season, but his opening drive against the Colts sure did look a lot like Dak's play in the preseason last year. Maybe we just all need to accept the fact that he's really good at football.