What’s really wrong with the Dallas Cowboys offense?

Through 3 games the Dallas Cowboys offense ranks 30th in the league overall and 31st in passing offense.  Numbers can often be deceiving but the on the field product so far this season has been an accurate depiction of how poorly they have performed.  While no one is disputing how badly the Dallas Cowboys offense has been this season, exactly who is to blame has been the hottest topic of debate.  Some will point to the young QB Dak Prescott, others the supporting cast such as the offensive line, the receivers and tight ends and even their star RB Ezekiel Elliott.  Many share the opinion that the problem begins and ends with the coaching staff.  Head coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan shoulder most of the blame but new position coaches Kellen Moore (QB), Sanjay Lal (WR), Frank Pollack (OL) and Doug Nussmeier (TE) have been mentioned as well.  Then of course there is Jerry Jones and the head office.  Losing Dez Bryant and Jason Witten and not finding suitable replacements is always a risky move especially when your offense is struggling and you watch rookie WR Calvin Ridley (one of many WR’s the Cowboys passed on in the 1st round of the draft) catch 3 TD passes this past weekend.  It is easy to assign blame but it is far more difficult to diagnose and correct the problem.  So what exactly is wrong with the Dallas Cowboys offense and how can they fix it? 

A good place to start is with the quarterback.  Dak Prescott has not been at his best in the early going and that does not bode well for the man who has been appointed the future franchise QB of the Dallas Cowboys.  Dak has not been able to connect with and establish a good report with his new receivers and tight ends.  He is not been accurate and has not been able to make completions down the field.  These are the things that he has consistently been criticized for and he has not seemed to have improved in those areas at all.  Part of that can be attributed to the play of the offensive line.  Dak has been under constant pressure.  He has been sacked 11 times, been pressured inside and outside of the pocket and taken numerous hits.  He simply does not have time to sit back in the pocket and deliver passes down the field.  The only time he has been able to move the ball effectively is when the Cowboys are playing from behind in the hurry up offense and he is facing a soft defense.  The passing game needs to be successful early in the game in order to give the Cowboys a chance to win games. 

Part of the reason that the passing game has struggled early is because Ezekiel Elliott and the once dominant Cowboys rushing attack has been ineffective this season.  Statistically the Cowboys have the 7th ranked rushing attack in the league but that does not paint an accurate picture.  What teams are doing successfully this year is taking Elliott out of the game early.  Take a look at how poor Elliott’s rushing numbers are in the 1st quarter in 2018.  

Zeke by quarter in 2018 (*Courtesy of ProFootballReference.com) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ElliEz00/splits/2018/

As can clearly been seen in the table above, Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys offense have not been able to establish the run game early.  This has directly resulted in more 3rd and long situations for Prescott and the Cowboys.  We know that Dak struggles with the deep ball and with accuracy and we know that the offensive line is not doing him any favours lately.  It is no wonder that the Cowboys early drives keep resulting in 3 and outs.  By the time Zeke is able to get going in games this year, the Cowboys are already playing from behind.  At least that is how it has played out in the losses to Carolina and Seattle. 

Coaching surely has something to do with the ineptitude of the offense.  The offensive line that is supposed to be the best in the league is not looking the part.  They have been hit by injuries yes, but look at the group of guys the Seahawks had in front of Russel Wilson yesterday.  If the Seahawks can figure it out with all their issues then surely the Cowboys loaded with 1st round talent like Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins could do it as well.  The Cowboys may not have Dez Bryant or Jason Witten but in all honesty those guys were not lighting it up statistically the last few seasons as receivers.  The Cowboys brought in new personnel and new coaches to make the offense more “Dak Friendly”.  I don’t know if it is just me but I don’t see these new receivers and tight ends getting any more open this season than last.  Then there is the read option.  The Cowboys were very successful against the Giants using the RPO and not only did Dak rush for 45 yards in the game but it opened up things for the rest of the offense as well.  Inexplicably, the Cowboys did not use the RPO extensively against the Panthers or Seahawks and the results speak for themselves.  I for one do not attribute this to poor play calling so much as I do for the success of opposing defenses.  Dak Prescott has run the read option since college and is very proficient at it.  Prescott always preaches that he will read the defense and try to take what they give him.  Dak probably did not like what he was seeing against Carolina or Seattle.  The presence of a strong defensive front and All-Pro linebackers such as Luke Keuchly and Bobby Wagner are something the Panthers and Seahawks have in common and that is probably why we didn’t see as much RPO in those games.  Those teams were just bettered prepared to defend against it.

The simple truth is that the Dallas Cowboys offense is a complete mess right now and all of the above (Prescott, O-line, coaches, personnel) own a share of the blame.  The Cowboys are simply no longer capable of dominating the line of scrimmage and establishing the run game as they did in the past.  They cannot do what they do best and as a result they have zero confidence right now.  The only logical solution now is to hit the reset button and start a new with a fresh new game plan.  Instead of trying to force the run game when teams are clearly loading the box to stop Elliott the Cowboys should try to take their deep shots early on as they did against the Giants.  They don’t need to chuck it down the field every play but a few well timed deep shots, even if they don’t result in 64 yard TD passes, might benefit the offense on a pass interference call or at the very least keep the defense honest.  If Dak Prescott struggles with the deep balls then the Cowboys should try to be aggressive and dictate when and how he will take his shots downfield like 1st down or 3rd and short.  That would be much better than putting Dak in situations where the defense forces him to throw the ball on 3rd and long and then brings additional pressure to make him more uncomfortable.  They should also try to run a fast paced offence and try to get the ball out of Dak’s hands quickly.  Some simple patterns with quick slants and crossing routes that will help Dak get some easy completions and build his confidence as well as that of the entire offense.  This will have the additional benefit of tiring out the opposing teams defense which will give Dak and the offense some breathing room.  Eliminate the obvious screens and avoid passes behind the line of scrimmage so that the offense has a better chance of actually gaining yardage.  If the Cowboys can establish a little bit of a rhythm then they can once again start to do what they do best…run the football.

Perhaps this is a good solution or maybe it really does just come down to better execution.  Worse still, maybe the personnel is just not good enough and nothing short of better talent can cure these offensive struggles.  One thing is certain though, if the Dallas Cowboys offense does not drastically improve this team will not make the playoffs.

*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

All Data and statistics obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/