Remember a week ago, when things felt over and done for in Dallas? What a difference a week makes, especially without even winning a game.
The Cowboys tied against the Packers on Sunday night, which is largely meaningless when it comes to propelling the team forward in the playoff hunt. But the nature in which they tied is what offers so much optimism for the Cowboys, at least on one side of the ball.
A week ago, this offense was reeling from a dreadful performance in Chicago. Dak Prescott threw two picks, Javonte Williams fumbled on the opening drive, and CeeDee Lamb was lost for several games with a high ankle sprain. To make matters worse, Tyler Booker was also lost to an injury, adding to the offensive line woes with Cooper Beebe already injured.
That meant Dallas would return home to play without their best receiver and two backups starting on the offensive line, and they were only going up against a Packers defense that had been performing like one of the league’s best defenses, anchored by Micah Parsons.
Naturally, a 40 burger was served up for dinner.
I said last week that it would take a masterclass in offensive scheming from Brian Schottenheimer to score with any consistency against this defense. That’s exactly what happened, with Schottenheimer dialing up some brilliant play calls to free up running room for Williams and get Prescott in a rhythm despite the issues at wide receiver.
It resulted in their second 40-point game in four weeks under Schottenheimer. Prescott finished with 319 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.5% of his passes. He also ran one in, as did Williams. Both Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin got carries in the game, too, with Schottenheimer at one point using a Flournoy motion to fake the end around and create space for Williams up the middle.
Schottenheimer also made it a point to get George Pickens going early, seeking to weaponize his big receiver on more than just 50/50 balls.
To give you an idea of just how good this offense is playing right now, here’s a quick rundown of where the Cowboys rank in a handful of important offensive metrics.
- 1st in total yards
- 5th in points scored
- 6th in yards per play
- 4th in yards per carry
- 4th in EPA/play
- 5th in offensive DVOA
- 5th in percent of drives that end in a score
- 1st in first downs gained by penalty
To put it simply, this offense is cooking right now, and Schottenheimer is the man calling the shots. It’s no real surprise, given that his first year as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator saw Prescott finish second in MVP voting. And, to that point, Prescott is playing so well that he’s making an early case to be in the mix for that award again.
Unlike that 2023 season, though, Schottenheimer has also built a dominant run game. Not only does Dallas rank fifth in EPA/rush, they’re second in yards after contact per carry, behind only Derrick Henry and the Ravens. They also lead the league in rush success rate.
That’s the impact of offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, whose varied run schemes have introduced entirely new ways to run the ball for the famously run-heavy Schottenheimer. Not only is it making the Cowboys a more balanced offense, but it’s opening up things in the passing game, too: Prescott is currently using play-action on nearly 27% of his dropbacks, a significant uptick from the 17% he ran last year. And, on play-action, Prescott is fourth in EPA/dropback and second in completion percentage over expected (CPOE).
To put it in further perspective, in just Week 4, the Cowboys were third in EPA/play and second in success rate. That’s how good they were without Lamb while facing a defense that came into the game ranked third in EPA/play allowed.
Schottenheimer is dialed in with his offense right now. Prescott is off to a hot start, the run game is actually strong and reliable, and reinforcements are on the way. The defense remains an obvious question mark, and Schottenheimer undoubtedly wants to fix that too, but it’s worth admiring just how great the offense has been through one quarter of the season.
See More:
