See What Cowboys’ Offence Could Cause.
This season, the Dallas Cowboys offence has been among the most effective in the whole NFL, and they have been particularly strong in recent weeks. Dallas leads the NFL in points scored per game (32.3) heading into this week’s Sunday Night Football clash. The team also ranks in the top five in terms of yards per play (5.7), third-down percentage (48.5), touchdown drive percentage (30.1%), and adjusted point average per play (0.127). Dak Prescott and this passing attack are carrying the weight, and the film confirms that, even though they have a run game that nearly every statistic would rank as league-average.
Prescott is playing at an extremely high level right now, and when you look at his numbers over the last four games, he ranks near the top of most of the important quarterback passing metrics. His command of the offense is palpable, conducting like a seasoned maestro in the pre-snap phase while executing with surgical precision after the snap. His ball placement and overall accuracy stand out at all three levels, and he’s also creating more often outside the pocket than what he had been doing in the beginning of the year.
Prior to the Cowboys’ Week 9 game last month, I started researching their offence and noticed that they had a pass game that was frequently jumbled at the start of the season. The quarterback and the receivers did not communicate well. Other than standout receiver CeeDee Lamb, there was no genuine threat. Prescott was pressuring the matter at critical junctures, which resulted in turnovers, particularly in the red zone. The Cowboys were 29th in the league in red zone touchdown % after eight games, and while they were reasonably efficient in most other areas, they were not particularly effective.
Fast forward five weeks and those numbers at the top speak for themselves. So, what has changed? Here’s what the film and numbers have shown since the season’s mid-point, and it starts with additional aggression downfield.
Through eight games, the Cowboys ranked 21st in the NFL in deep pass percentage (according to Pro Football Focus), attacking downfield (air yards of at least 20 yards) on just 11.2 percent of dropbacks. Now? That ranking is all the way up in the top five. Since the Week 9 matchup at Lincoln Financial Field, the Cowboys have thrown 41 passes that have traveled at least 20 yards in the air. That’s eight more than the second-highest number during that time (the Tennessee Titans). That aggression is paying off, with Prescott throwing four touchdowns on those passes (second highest in the league).
While Dallas has generally been more aggressive downfield with its pass game, the biggest schematic changes on film are with the amount of pre-snap motion they use and the number of Empty sets they deploy.
What Could the offence of Cowboys’ cause?
Before the game in Week 9, the Cowboys were smack in the middle of the pack in the NFL with how much pre-snap motion they used (54.5 percent, ranked 15th in the league at that point). From Week 9 on? They’ve thrown more passes preceded by motion (125) than any team in football. They’re third in the league in EPA per play when they use motion, so they’re really good at it as well.
Lamb leads the NFL with 16 first-down receptions and 10 explosive plays off motion since Week 9. They love to get him on the move so that he has free access up to the second level of the defense, as it’s harder to press a receiver when he is a motion man off the ball.
In this Sunday night’s game, the Cowboys will undoubtedly use pre-snap motion to get the ball to the playmakers on the move or to open up coverage by deceiving the defence.
Additionally, Prescott has been used in empty formations by the Cowboys far more frequently, where the five eligible receivers are dispersed throughout the field and he is in the backfield.
Dallas ranked just 25th in football after using empty sets on only 7.2 percent of its snaps in the first eight weeks of the season. Since then? Since Week 9, it has almost doubled to 13 percent, which is second in the league.
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