The Cowboys have been fading but Week 9 gives them an opportunity to get back on the right track, as long as these key players can step up.

With the Dallas Cowboys now 3-4, this upcoming game against the Atlanta Falcons reads like a must-win if there’s ever been one. The Cowboys continue to fall further behind NFC East-leading Washington Commanders and are even beginning to lose pace with the 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles.

Knowing this, it’s time to call out some players who need to step up this week and move forward if Dallas is going to salvage this season.

Dak Prescott

Yes, it feels like the world is beating this horse into the ground unfortunately but it’s all true. Dak Prescott has been average at best since becoming the NFL’s first $60 million man. Folks online have even the “king of garbage time,” which is harsh but again, true in many cases.

When games are tight and within reach, Prescott is almost in witness protection, he’s so quiet.

Then in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys are down by a few scores, Dak powers up to stat pad making it seem as though he’d had at least a decent game. This is nothing new as anyone who watches a bulk of Dallas’ games should’ve noticed this long ago.

Prescott knows it too and spoke to the opportunity Dallas had on the last drive against San Francisco, on Sunday night and how he’s got to make it happen. After giving up 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, the Cowboys trailed the 49ers 27-10 entering the fourth quarter.

Prescott led the late comeback to bring Dallas within six points and a chance to win the game with under three minutes remaining. That final drive was abysmal and the Cowboys ended up losing, 30-24.

“They did a good job, took [tight end ] away underneath, kind of bracketed this corner route, forced me out of the pocket,” . “Liked the matchup, took a shot, and didn’t convert it…”

“I had to get out of the pocket and kind of put something up for hopes,” Prescott added. “Hope that there was contact in the end. Didn’t go that way. Two guys on one. They made the plays when they needed to, and we didn’t.”

No one expects perfection from Prescott but mediocrity also isn’t what’s expected from the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. When things go great, he gets the praise and should expect the opposite when they don’t. Now at 3-4, this week’s matchup on the road against Atlanta feels like another must-win.

Falling to 3-5 with Washington continuing their winning ways at 6-2 would be a tough hole to dig out of.

“I don’t have to be perfect, but I sure can’t be having the turnovers,” Prescott explained, adding, “Once again, we put ourselves behind in the turnover battle, and that’s on me. Can’t have that if you’re planning to win games. I’ve got to clean that up, period.”

Dalvin Cook

For those wondering why they finally saw Dalvin Cook Sunday against the Niners, it was due in part to Rico Dowdle, the Cowboys starter becoming sick as he arrived at Levi’s Stadium for the game, as the team described it.

“Upon arriving at the stadium, running back Rico Dowdle became sick. He is being evaluated by the team’s medical staff, and his game status is now questionable.”

Fans have been calling for Cook all year as he’s been on the practice squad since signing with Dallas. With Ezekiel Elliott being mostly ineffective this season and Dowdle improving but not setting the world on fire, this Cowboys ground attack has been the worst in the league.

However, now that Cook is on the main roster it’s time to see what he’s got left in the tank. Most will forgive his debut outing against the Niners since it was his first live action for Dallas and it was against a usually stout San Francisco front seven. Cook was with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens last season although he didn’t get on the field for the latter.

So, in his first game action in almost a year, Cook rushed for 12 yards on six carries Sunday. He’ll need to continue ramping up but the Cowboys will need to see more this week when they play the Falcons.

If Cook (and the backfield overall) can get some help up front there should be no reason he can’t have a good day against the Falcons as they rank in the lower third of the league against the run.

Jalen Tolbert

Unlike Cook, Jalen Tolbert has no excuses for not showing up to produce for the Cowboys.

As the de facto No. 2 option at wideout, Tolbert needs to get open more often than he does for Prescott to really begin trusting him. A few weeks ago, in the win over Pittsburgh, Prescott targeted Tolbert 10 times and the young receiver caught seven for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Since then, Tolbert had nine catches and 87 yards combined in Dallas’ last two games. Other than CeeDee Lamb, these Cowboys receivers are failing to get open consistently giving Prescott nowhere to go many times which leads to him forcing passes into tight windows, usually leading to interceptions.

Lamb had 17 targets and caught 13 of them in Sunday’s loss. It’s CeeDee or bust in Big D and you aren’t going to win many games with that approach. It’s time for Tolbert to make a lasting mark on this team.