Quincy Carter is averaging a TD once every 72 passes. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

By Don Banks

Watching Quincy Carter step up and lead Dallas to the biggest win of his three-year NFL career Monday night, there were moments when it was easy to believe we were witnessing the final stages of a big-league quarterback's development.

Throwing for a career-best 321 yards against the Giants -- the second consecutive game he established a personal high in yardage -- Carter made his share of big plays at key moments. None were more pivotal than the 26-yard laser of a deep-out to Antonio Bryant, which set up Dallas' game-tying 52-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

He showed impressive poise when his team needed it most, and I especially liked how he spread the ball around once he got into a rhythm, connecting with seven different receivers. For the first time in memory, Carter looked truly comfortable and in command in the pocket.

Still, I'm not convinced he's the guy in Dallas. And the biggest reason why was also on display at times at Giants Stadium: his maddening inconsistency.

Above all else, Bill Parcells values and demands consistency from his quarterbacks. They don't have to be flashy. Or spectacular. Parcells wants solid, dependable passers who won't take you on a weekly three-hour roller coaster ride. He'll take Phil Simms over Randall Cunningham every time.

Sorry, but the Carter I saw can still wow you and make you hang your head, all in the same half. He proved it again Monday night, starting his night out by throwing a horrible interception to Giants cornerback Ralph Brown, which was returned 29 yards for a touchdown.

Carter regrouped and led the Cowboys to 13 points on their next three drives after the pick, yet his first-half QB rating was a modest 51.8 on its way to finishing at 77.2. Terry Glenn in particular saved him several incompletions, twisting to make catches on balls that should have been delivered in stride. Despite his fine game, Carter is completing passes at 55.5 percent this season, well below the NFL average of 59.6 in 2002.

But here's maybe the most telling number: At 62, will Parcells be patient enough to ride out Carter's rough spots and stick with the Q for long in Big D?

Call me skeptical.

Quincy Carter's passer rating is a career-high 75.5 this season. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

By Peter King

Quarterback prospecting is not perfect. When Bill Parcells took the New York Giants' coaching job in 1983, he picked Scott Brunner over Phil Simms as his starter. History will tell us, ahem, that Parcells just may have made a mistake there.

But he's learned quite a bit since then about quarterbacking. In New England, he picked Drew Bledsoe as the first choice of the 1993 draft over Rick Mirer. With the Jets, he resuscitated the career of Vinny Testaverde, demoting Neil O'Donnell and Glenn Foley to make room.

This summer, after bypassing Jake Delhomme and Brian Griese in free agency, Parcells picked Quincy Carter over Chad Hutchinson, and away they went.

I can't say with confidence that Carter is going to be Simms. What I can say is that I was in Giants Stadium on Monday night, and, gun to my head, I now believe Quincy Carter is going to be Dallas' quarterback of the future.

He made a few mistakes, one of which (the telegraphed Ralph Brown interception returned for touchdown in the first quarter) really bothered me. But some of his throws were the throws of a six-year veteran with total control over the playbook.

What confidence, especially in the teeth of a high-pressure game and rain and a vocal crowd. Not only did he complete 63 percent of his passes, but it was the quality of passes he completed. How about that 26-yard pinpoint pass to Antonio Bryant with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter?

Of course, it's silly to base something as big as quarterback of the future on five quarters of very good play. Carter's resume has 25 quarters of suspect. Why should we believe these five quarters? instead of five or 10 or 15 crummy ones?

I'll tell you why: This was the biggest game of Quincy Carter's life, and it was the best game of his life. He showed me he has it in him to be an above-average player in this league, and he did it on the biggest regular-season stage in sports -- the Monday night game.

Now Parcells just has to learn to live with some mistakes, which there will be, while Carter continues to grow. I think he's going to make it.