Dallas Cowboys 4 keys to victory: Don’t eat the cheese in week 4
By John Herndon
Dallas Cowboys Key 1: Continue to lean on the power running game
The injury to Dak Prescott has made the Cowboys discover that less is more. Kellen Moore doesn’t need to be Dennis the Menace as an offensive coordinator. Football is a game of attitude. A power running game sets a physical tone of attitude unlike anything else.
This is what Dallas talked about fixing offseason after getting bullied by the 49ers defensive front last season at AT&T Stadium. Ask any offensive line and they will say they would rather move forward than backwards.
Monday night, Dallas ran the ball 30 times right at the Giants for 5.9 yards per carry. That kind of production is beautiful to behold. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard displayed why the workload has to be dispersed.
Three rookies who have shown that the pro game is not too big for them. OT Tyler Smith, TE Jake Ferguson, and TE Peyton Hendershot all relished the dirty work of blocking all night long.
Screenshot this note: The Commanders rush defense is giving up 5.4 per carry and 386 yards in three games.
When the run game is humming, play action benefits from it. Look at these numbers: Cooper Rush using play action went 11-15, for 158 yards, 107 QB rating, 10.6 YPA. He was Limelight.
Power football can carry itself anywhere, under any kind of weather, and you hope the blueprint will not change once Dak is back in the saddle. I have seen this movie before in Green Bay.
Mike McCarthy and Joe Philbin’s (2007–2011) Packers offense ranked in the top 10 in the NFL for points scored and total yards every year, including their 2010 Super Bowl-winning season. This looks like it could be the start of a new run in Dallas.
We shall see.