Cowboys offense ‘just lethal’ in Giant win
ARLINGTON, Texas – Dak Prescott described it as demoralizing.
He was a rookie, drafted 135th overall in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft coming into a quarterback room to compete for a chance at backing up Tony Romo. A veteran named Kellen Moore was ahead of him on the depth chart. And that Moore guy seemed to have a knack for anticipating throws and reading defenses.
“It was tough,” Prescott said Sunday night of the man now coordinating the Cowboys’ offense. “I didn’t like it. But I also admired that part of him and wanted to be that some day . ... He’s one of these geniuses.”
Fast forward three-and-a-bit years. On Sunday, Moore debuted as Dallas’ offensive coordinator while Prescott opened his fourth season as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback.
Prescott threw for 405 yards in the contest, a franchise record for opening day. He threw touchdown passes to four receivers, none of which were Michael Gallup who still posted 158 yards as he caught all seven targets. And Prescott maintained a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 35-17 drubbing of the New York Giants. He is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to achieve the feat with more than 30 passing attempts.
Zeke who?
“He came out there and played his tail off,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told USA TODAY Sports from his locker after the win. “He stepped up, he made big throws and he was very accurate and got his playmakers the ball. I don’t expect anything less from Dak.”
Prescott deferred credit. He requested credit go to Moore for dialing up the right plays, with the right presnap confusion to confuse the Giants’ defense, at the right time.
The Cowboys aimed to exploit what they viewed as a Giants defense keyed in on stopping Elliott’s run game. Elliott rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, also catching a pass for 10 yards. The team aimed to limit his touches with Elliott returning on Wednesday from a 40-day holdout.
In the meantime, teammates of the league’s highest-paid running back caught balls all over. There was offseason slot acquisition Randall Cobb up the middle for 12 on a 3rd-and-4 and another short pass transformed into 14 yards when Cobb stiff-armed a defender.
There was Gallup drilling yards after the catch to follow a 36-yard deep ball with a 23-yard play, and there was a 21-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-4 to Amari Cooper that Prescott said “got me in the zone.”
The Cowboys first scored when Prescott tossed a floater touchdown to tight end Blake Jarwin in the second quarter, Jarwin’s fourth touchdown versus the Giants in the last two games. Prescott’s thought on Moore’s play call for that touchdown: Uh oh. That’s one of Jason Witten’s favorites.
“So the moment I hear that play call in my head and I see he’s not in the game, I’m just like, ‘Whoa, he’s not going to be too happy about this,’ ” Prescott said of Witten. He set up the 37-year-old unretired tight end to score on the next drive.
“Dak taking advantage of what the defense is giving him,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones described the performance. “To me, that is the story of the day.”
It’s a story that prompts questions about how and when the Cowboys will compensate Prescott, who is playing on the last year of his contract after not agreeing to terms on an extension with the team this offseason. Jerry Jones said Sunday night that Prescott’s extension is “imminent” but also that “I sure do know he can walk out there and play without a contract. Just a great performance.”
Prescott, when asked, said his focus is on football and the Cowboys’ Week 2 game against the Redskins.
His receivers echoed that sentiment. They aren’t underestimating a Washington team that fell 32-27 to the Eagles in Week 1 or overestimating their own potential because “usually when teams have a good game one week,” Cooper said, “they come back the next week and have a bad game.”
But there’s optimism around Dallas that Moore has the tools to demoralize NFL defenses like he once did Prescott in defensive reads. The Cowboys saw how many receiving threats they have against the Giants. And should a secondary hamper some of those targets, they expect Elliott to improve as the season unfolds and he further finds a rhythm.
“We’re just lethal,” Cooper said. “Everybody can make plays, everybody has their own style. So I mean it’s a good thing for our offense, definitely. Defenses should watch out.”