I have long maintained that a big part of the reason the Cowboys have struggled in the red zone since Moore took over is that they lack a true throw it up guy at receiver. The way Cooper elevated and went up to take that ball away from the DB could change my thinking on that. Dude got waaaaay up over that DB and frankly sort of effortlessly plucked it out of the air. That was positively Dez-like. If we can count on him to do that with any regularity we should become an 80% TD in the red zone team.
Even with Dez that play requires the perfect pass, the perfect jump timing, the receiver's hands missing the ball and the defender's hands in the air, catching the ball while jumping above a player while also giving the defender a chance to swat the ball out after the catch is made.
It looks great when it works, but that is not really a "sure thing" fix but rather one more play option to call. That said, it is a great first down play call because it has a low turnover risk and late in the game it stops the clock on an incompletion.
My personal preference though for a red zone pass play is the start-stop-go route in the corner where the receiver starts to run to the corner, then stops and partially turns back and as the defender bites, he turns forward again and runs to the corner with the defender likely having to turn and chase. That is also a low risk turnover play and stops the clock on an incompletion which can be helpful late in a game.
