Plankton
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Not so hot take of the week: Dak Prescott’s performance on Sunday against the Commanders was superior to his perfect passer rating effort of Week One.
How do I figure this? Well, there are a couple of factors. One, the opponent, the Commanders, were not inactive bystanders as the Giants were the previous week. The Commanders defense came out to play early in the game, and forced the Cowboys into a first quarter drives of three and out, an interception and another three and out. After one quarter, the Cowboys were limited to 36 yards of total offense, one turnover and were staring at a 7-0 deficit. Following a Tress Way punt inside the 20, and a holding penalty on C.J. Goodwin on the return, the Cowboys were backed up on their own three yard line.
With a stat line of four completions in six attempts for Prescott, for 19 yards and the aforementioned interception, and an offense that looked to be recovering from a hangover remaining from the highs of the maiden voyage of the Kellen Moore Experience, it was an early test for the quarterback, seeking a life changing contract.
From this point forward, I think we can call it a test passed with flying colors.
With his back up against his own end zone, Prescott needed to show the same field awareness and playmaking that he overwhelmed the Giants with the previous week. On second down, it was a scramble by the young veteran quarterback that seemed to get him going. Prescott took the ball up the middle for 15 yards, and jump started the Cowboy offense. Five plays later, Prescott ran play action, and threw a gorgeous deep post route to a streaking Devin Smith, tying the score, and shifting the momentum to the Cowboys.
From there, it was a contrast in performance. The Commanders struggled to run the football, and were unable to threaten the Cowboy defense down the field as they did the Eagles in Week One. The Cowboys, on the other hand, matched their efforts of the previous week in scoring on five consecutive possessions. Three Prescott touchdown passes, featuring decisive reads and aggressive throws, turned the game from a struggle to a runaway. The progression and improvement of Prescott was demonstrated on his touchdown pass just before the end of the first half. On a drive extended by two Commander defensive penalties on third down, with :13 seconds remaining in the half, Prescott had a small window to get a pass toward the front pylon in to tight end Jason Witten. Despite being a notoriously risk averse player, Prescott trusted his eyes, his arm and his tight end, and rifled a perfect throw to Witten for the go ahead touchdown. I’m not sure that Prescott makes that throw earlier in his career. Now, he’s at the point where he does, and the Cowboys are better for it.
After starting the game with a 31.25 passer rating in the first quarter, Prescott went on to show that perhaps what happened in Week One wasn’t a fluke. All he did was go 22 for 24 for 250 yards and three touchdowns for the remainder of the contest. Passer rating for the final three quarters? 149.65.
When he didn’t make plays with his arm, he made big plays with his legs. In addition to his 15 yard run that seemed to light a fire in the offense, Prescott broke loose on a zone read keeper for 42 yards that may have been a touchdown had Michael Gallup maintained his block on Josh Norman downfield. With this being a road contest, and facing a defense that had some ability to put up a fight, Prescott responded when he took an early shot, and showed that this offense could very well be special this year.
Combine Prescott’s efforts with the route running skills of Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb, the emerging confidence of Michael Gallup, the all-around abilities of Ezekiel Elliott and the reemergence of the offensive line, the Cowboy offensive personnel looks to be a formidable matchup for any team that they will face this year. Combine this with the early ingenuity demonstrated by play caller Kellen Moore, and this offense has the potential to be as exciting and productive as any unit seen in Dallas in the last 25 years.
The schedule, soft at the top, looks to potentially be softer as the weeks go by. The Cowboys face the third ring in their extended exhibition schedule with the JV squad of the NFL, the Dolphins. What looked to be a daunting matchup with the Saints in New Orleans looks a little less challenging with Drew Brees out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks. The Packers, early on this season, still seem to be finding their way offensively under new head coach Matt LaFleur. The Jets? An utter mess. Following this, come the Eagles, in what could be the most significant challenge faced by the Cowboys in the early going.
While the team needs to look at each week as its own proposition, it’s hard as fans to not be excited about how this new look offense is performing.
Significantly more exciting is the prospect of their quarterback showing improvement week to week.
Other observations about this week’s game:
How do I figure this? Well, there are a couple of factors. One, the opponent, the Commanders, were not inactive bystanders as the Giants were the previous week. The Commanders defense came out to play early in the game, and forced the Cowboys into a first quarter drives of three and out, an interception and another three and out. After one quarter, the Cowboys were limited to 36 yards of total offense, one turnover and were staring at a 7-0 deficit. Following a Tress Way punt inside the 20, and a holding penalty on C.J. Goodwin on the return, the Cowboys were backed up on their own three yard line.
With a stat line of four completions in six attempts for Prescott, for 19 yards and the aforementioned interception, and an offense that looked to be recovering from a hangover remaining from the highs of the maiden voyage of the Kellen Moore Experience, it was an early test for the quarterback, seeking a life changing contract.
From this point forward, I think we can call it a test passed with flying colors.
With his back up against his own end zone, Prescott needed to show the same field awareness and playmaking that he overwhelmed the Giants with the previous week. On second down, it was a scramble by the young veteran quarterback that seemed to get him going. Prescott took the ball up the middle for 15 yards, and jump started the Cowboy offense. Five plays later, Prescott ran play action, and threw a gorgeous deep post route to a streaking Devin Smith, tying the score, and shifting the momentum to the Cowboys.
From there, it was a contrast in performance. The Commanders struggled to run the football, and were unable to threaten the Cowboy defense down the field as they did the Eagles in Week One. The Cowboys, on the other hand, matched their efforts of the previous week in scoring on five consecutive possessions. Three Prescott touchdown passes, featuring decisive reads and aggressive throws, turned the game from a struggle to a runaway. The progression and improvement of Prescott was demonstrated on his touchdown pass just before the end of the first half. On a drive extended by two Commander defensive penalties on third down, with :13 seconds remaining in the half, Prescott had a small window to get a pass toward the front pylon in to tight end Jason Witten. Despite being a notoriously risk averse player, Prescott trusted his eyes, his arm and his tight end, and rifled a perfect throw to Witten for the go ahead touchdown. I’m not sure that Prescott makes that throw earlier in his career. Now, he’s at the point where he does, and the Cowboys are better for it.
After starting the game with a 31.25 passer rating in the first quarter, Prescott went on to show that perhaps what happened in Week One wasn’t a fluke. All he did was go 22 for 24 for 250 yards and three touchdowns for the remainder of the contest. Passer rating for the final three quarters? 149.65.
When he didn’t make plays with his arm, he made big plays with his legs. In addition to his 15 yard run that seemed to light a fire in the offense, Prescott broke loose on a zone read keeper for 42 yards that may have been a touchdown had Michael Gallup maintained his block on Josh Norman downfield. With this being a road contest, and facing a defense that had some ability to put up a fight, Prescott responded when he took an early shot, and showed that this offense could very well be special this year.
Combine Prescott’s efforts with the route running skills of Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb, the emerging confidence of Michael Gallup, the all-around abilities of Ezekiel Elliott and the reemergence of the offensive line, the Cowboy offensive personnel looks to be a formidable matchup for any team that they will face this year. Combine this with the early ingenuity demonstrated by play caller Kellen Moore, and this offense has the potential to be as exciting and productive as any unit seen in Dallas in the last 25 years.
The schedule, soft at the top, looks to potentially be softer as the weeks go by. The Cowboys face the third ring in their extended exhibition schedule with the JV squad of the NFL, the Dolphins. What looked to be a daunting matchup with the Saints in New Orleans looks a little less challenging with Drew Brees out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks. The Packers, early on this season, still seem to be finding their way offensively under new head coach Matt LaFleur. The Jets? An utter mess. Following this, come the Eagles, in what could be the most significant challenge faced by the Cowboys in the early going.
While the team needs to look at each week as its own proposition, it’s hard as fans to not be excited about how this new look offense is performing.
Significantly more exciting is the prospect of their quarterback showing improvement week to week.
Other observations about this week’s game:
- With the injuries suffered by Brees and Ben Roethlisberger this week, it shows how precarious a team's fortunes can be with regards to the quarterback position. The position's salary is dictated by its importance, as you can't win consistently in the NFL without strong quarterback play. It also creates an issue because when a team is dedicating a high percentage of the salary cap to one player, it doesn't leave a lot of flexibility to adequately back up the most important position on the field. Keep this in mind this season for the Cowboys, both with Prescott's salary negotiations as well as his health and availability on the field this year. Prescott has been remarkably durable in the early part of his career, but this needs to continue for the Cowboys to have a shot at success this season.
- Big improvement for the defense this week in all aspects of play. The pass rush, despite only getting home one time, was a factor in making Case Keenum uncomfortable in the pocket, and unable to attack down the field. The secondary was more active as well, with Chidobe Awuzie being largely ignored due to his tight coverage, and Xavier Woods flashing much more this week. The run defense, leaky a week ago, was much more assignment sound with linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith (10 tackles) getting better run fits. The defense made the Commanders work for everything that they got in this game, and it was a far superior effort over what took place in Week One.
- Another week, another game with Taco Charlton and Trysten Hill on the inactive list. Could this change in the upcoming week? With Robert Quinn due to be activated off the suspended list, Charlton’s roster fate could be resolved either by trade or release. I would expect the latter in this case. With the MCL injury suffered by nose tackle Antwaun Woods on Sunday, this could open up the chance for Hill to be active against the Dolphins. With the overall inept play of the Dolphin offense, Hill could get some playing time in a potential non-competitive game, and demonstrate whether he is worthy of being active going forward. This will be interesting to watch.
- While the Cowboy defense was significantly better this past week, they did leave some plays on the field. Both safeties Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods were in position to jump routes and intercept passes, with both possibly in position to be walk in touchdowns. Woods showed why he was a defensive back instead of a receiver by bobbling and ultimately dropping his chance, while Heath never got his head around, and paid for it with a football off his helmet. A little more awareness could have resulted in a couple of splash plays for the defense.
- The Cowboy offensive line had an overall strong game, but Connor Williams showed some of the same struggles that marred his rookie season. Williams committed two penalties, and had a number of snaps where Commander DL Da’Ron Payne whipped him at the point of attack. One of those whiffs resulted in the only sack of Prescott in this game, and his false start penalty helped thwart a potential touchdown drive. Neither of these errors ultimately cost the Cowboys in the game, but his play needs to improve against players with power. Juxtaposing this effort with last season’s play would have shown not much difference from year to year.
- In the past, when the Cowboys would need to make a play in the running game, they would typically dial up a run over Tyron Smith at left end, with guards pulling. They seem to be looking to go right more now. On 3rd and 5 from their own 32 with 1:07 to go, the Cowboys were looking to close out the game, and sent Ezekiel Elliott off of right tackle. La'el Collins, who had his best matchup with Ryan Kerrigan since he switched to right tackle, caved in the edge, and Elliott ripped off a 27 yard run to allow the Cowboys to drain the clock. Collins has become a fierce run blocker at tackle, and this play demonstrated his strength in this area.
- It was good to see Elliott’s snap count increase this week, but it was equally good to see the drive where Elliott was on the bench for Tony Pollard to result in a score. Pollard showed some of the burst and flash that looked promising during the preseason, and he notched what looked to be his first NFL touchdown on the drive, but it was waved off on an Amari Cooper holding penalty. Still, it was a good start to what looks to be another versatile weapon in this offense.
- The three years between catches and four years between touchdowns must have seemed like an eternity for Devin Smith. Even more so, it’s yet another good sign for this offense that they were able to integrate a new player into the scheme with not only no drop off, but immediate production. Smith demonstrated his deep speed on the game tying touchdown, but also showed some toughness on his fourth quarter catch in the red zone. When one looks at the receiving corps from a season ago, and compare it to now, it’s fascinating to see how much of a 180° change has taken place. No one is more thankful than Prescott for this.
