Mike McCarthy finally made huge play-calling tweak Cowboys fans have begged for

It's likely that many are seeing the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night as an ugly one. And that's understandable, given the issues Dak Prescott had at times.

Thankfully, Prescott's pair of red-zone turnovers in the first half resulted in zero Pittsburgh points. And while his fourth-quarter interception did lead to a go-ahead touchdown for the Steelers, the NFL's highest-paid player stayed cool, calm, and collected while leading the team on a 15-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with a game-winning four-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert.

And Dak diving onto the football after Rico Dowdle's fumble at the goal line two snaps earlier shouldn't be overlooked, as that heads-up play made the winning score possible.

What also shouldn't be overlooked is the performance from the Dallas defense. Already without Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, Mike Zimmer's unit lost rookie Marshawn Kneeland to a knee injury just four plays into their first defensive drive.

Nevertheless, facing a Pittsburgh offense that had averaged 317.8 yards of offense through its first four games, the Cowboys held the Steelers to 226 total yards. But while the defense was strong, it is the offense where we want to put our focus today.

Anyone who watched the Cowboys' first four games knows that the offense looked rather vanilla. And anyone who scrolled through social media in that first month looking for Cowboys content knows that fans were begging Mike McCarthy to up the shift/motion rate in his play-calling.

Through Week 4, per Pro Football Focus, Dallas ranked 24th in the NFL in this metric, using motion roughly 40% of the time. In Week 5 against the Steelers, however, McCarthy upped the percentage considerably. And it unsurprisingly paid off.

Mike McCarthy finally added motion and shifts to the Cowboys' offense

On Sunday night, Dallas' shift/motion rate was approximately 64.5%, good for 10th among all teams in Week 5, not including the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints, as these rankings were done ahead of Monday Night Football.

Nevertheless, this offensive strategy was a far cry from what we saw from the Cowboys through the first four weeks. And, again, it unsurprisingly worked.

Like any offensive strategy, motion doesn't always work. But when utilized effectively, it can confuse a defense, as assignments can change and a quarterback can sometimes see what he's up against. And when facing a defense like the Steelers have, one that can limit and punish an opposing offense in so many ways, throwing in a little confusion can only help.

And just how much did it help Dallas? Well, the numbers kinda speak for themselves.

Through the first four weeks of the season, the Cowboys were the worst rushing team in football, averaging just 75.3 yards per game. On Sunday, Dallas rushed for a season-best 109 yards.

The passing numbers went up as well. After averaging 255.5 total passing yards through Week 4, that number was 336 on Sunday. Prescott threw for 352 yards but lost 16 yards on two sacks.

Add all that up, and you've got a season-high 445 total yards of offense. And that's facing a Steelers' defense that was only allowing 261.3 yards per game coming into this contest.

And let's get real here. While the Cowboys may have only put up 20 points, it could have and should have been a lot more. Take away even one of Dak's turnovers in the red zone and the blocked field goal, and Dallas doesn't need the late-game drama.

This was a much better game for the Cowboys than for which they're being credited. And the change in McCarthy's offensive play-calling undoubtedly played a big part in it. As Dallas faces another tough defense in Week 6, as they welcome the Detroit Lions to town, expect to see plenty of Cowboys in motion come next Sunday afternoon.

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