Fast Starts Key to Dallas Cowboys Early Success

Scoring first is a big reason why the Dallas Cowboys are having success five games into the 2016 NFL regular season.

When there’s a football season going on, there’s going to be controversy with the Dallas Cowboys. You know how the old saying goes; ‘life, death and taxes,’ well, you can add debates about the Cowboys during the fall.

But I’m not here to get into the whole quarterback argument over Dak Prescott or Tony Romo, life’s too good to quibble over such things. Just be happy the team finally has a capable backup, no matter who starts and the team is winning games.

Speaking of winning games, the Cowboys are doing it in impressive fashion and it starts from the opening kickoff. Dallas’ game plan has never been a secret; they want to run the ball, take time off the clock, score points, get out to a lead and put the opposition on their heels. This plan will allow their suspect defense to stay off the field.

Through five games, they’ve followed this strategy almost to perfection.

In each of their games so far, the Cowboys have received the ball first and put themselves in position to score points. The only game they failed to get out to a lead was the game against the San Francisco 49ers, where a hobbled kicker Dan Bailey missed a field goal he usually makes.

Against the New York Giants, Dallas’ offense marched 70 yards on 15 plays to take a 3-0 lead. Then, on their next possession, they had a drive of 52 yards on 15 more plays for another Bailey field goal. It stung to not cash in on more of those possessions, which likely cost them the game, but the Cowboys were doing what they set out to do, get a lead and play from ahead on the scoreboard.

The same thing happened in week two against the Washington Redskins; the Cowboys got the ball first and the offense went down the field in 13 plays and scored three points. They then came back with a touchdown drive of 94 yards to take a 10-0 lead.

In week three versus the Chicago Bears, it was more of the same and you can sense the Cowboys were catching their stride. Gone were the field goals, the Cowboys were now putting seven on the board. Dallas received the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown on a 10 play, 75 yard drive to begin the game. The offense proceeded to score on their next three possessions taking a 24-3 lead, and the game was over at half.

The game against the 49ers was the only outlier, but Dallas managed to overcome a sluggish start. Once the Cowboys got the lead, they controlled the game.

And then there was last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, where the Cowboys not only marched down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, they did so on the next two possessions as well. It was 21-0 before you blinked and the outcome was decided.

In every game this season, the Cowboys have scored first or been in position to take the lead on their opening drive. The offense is keeping the ball, extending possessions by converting on third downs and scoring points, putting their defense in better situations. This was the winning formula in 2014, and it remains the winning blueprint this season.

Next: Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers: Five Things to Watch

Getting the lead is vital for the success of the Dallas Cowboys, and they are doing it better than their opponents right now.

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