Dallas Cowboys: The current state of America’s Team
Another week, another huge victory for the Dallas Cowboys. After defeating the New York Giants 44-20, the Cowboys improved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 against divisional opponents. You could say this was Dallas’ most complete performance of the year as they threw for 300 yards, rushed for 200 yards, and forced two turnovers (one interception returned for a touchdown).
The team seems to be clicking on all cylinders and now they have a date with the New England Patriots on Sunday to try and extend the win streak to five. Playing in Foxborough against a Bill Belichick-led defense will be a tough test for any team.
The Cowboys last played in New England in 2019 where they lost 13-9 to the Pats in weather conditions that mirrored a hurricane. This time around the weather is expected to be better and obviously, Tom Brady will not be under center for the Patriots.
The Cowboys are playing great through the first five weeks but there is still a long way to go, without further ado here is the current state of America’s team.
Dallas Cowboys Offense
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is turning into one of the true masterminds amongst the position in the NFL. The Cowboys are currently second in the NFL in yards per game with 439.6, second in rushing yards per game with 172.8, and second in points per game with 34.0.
From the top down the offense is a well-oiled machine as many predicted coming into the year. Here are some of the key stats from the Cowboys’ top offensive players along with where they rank in the NFL.
Dak Prescott: 73.9% completion percentage (2nd), 1,368 passing yards (10th), 13 touchdown passes (T-3rd), 116.9 passer rating (3rd), his 7 touchdown passes of 20+ yards lead the NFL. Lastly, his 56.4% success rate ranks second in the league only to Patrick Mahomes (58.6%).
Ezekiel Elliott: 85 attempts (5th), 452 yards (3rd), 5.3 yards per attempt (9th), 5 touchdowns (T-2nd) this is the best Zeke has looked since 2016 and his numbers are backing it up.
Tony Pollard: 51 attempts (T-32nd), 325 yards (10th), 6.4 yards per attempt (1st), 1 touchdown ( T-36th). Pollard has been awesome in relief of Elliott this year. Amazingly leading the NFL in yards per attempt which goes to show how much of a gamechanger he is when on the field.
CeeDee Lamb: 24 receptions (T-37th), 348 receiving yards (T-22nd), 2 touchdowns (T-31st)
Amari Cooper: 25 receptions(T-30th), 318 receiving yards (T-29th), 4 touchdowns (T-7th)
Both Lamb and Cooper have fed off of one another and their stats might not have them currently ranked at the top of the league but I expect them to each have many monster days ahead.
Dalton Schultz: 26 receptions (T-27th), 280 receiving yards (44th), 3 touchdowns (T-16th). Taking over as the number one tight end in the offense Schultz has become the safety blanket for Dak Prescott and has led the team in targets over the past three games.
For the offensive line as a unit, they currently ranked 29th in the NFL in pass block win rate with a 48%. This is not very good, but it is impressive that Dak Prescott has only been sacked nine times this season which ranks 20th in the NFL.
That might say more about Prescott’s ability to get the ball out quickly and avoid pressure, so hopefully, the pass blocking will perform better the rest of the season.
Although for run blocking, the Cowboys O-line has been mauling people. They currently rank 3rd in the NFL in run block win rate and that is a huge reason why the team is averaging over 170 rushing yards per game.
All in all, you would be hard-pressed to find an offense operating at a higher level than the Cowboys. The current state of this unit has them in the top five in the league and should only continue to get better.