'We're Hitting On All Cylinders!' Dallas Cowboys Solve Scoring Issue in Coach Mike McCarthy's 'Texas Coast Offense'
In a victory defined by big numbers, only 20 mattered to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.
The Cowboys' box scores and scoreboards lit up like pinball machines against the New York Giants: the path to a 49-17 shellacking was 640 yards long as numerous starred participants reached personal landmarks like triple digits and their first end zone visits.
Critics will be quick to place (Big Blue) asterisks next to the dominant victory that came against a woebegone metropolitan group down to its third-string quarterback and likely looking to claw its way up the 2024 NFL Draft board. But, for all intents and purposes, Dallas (6-3) earned wins in more ways than one on Sunday, taking full advantage of a prime opportunity to make a statement.
As coach Mike McCarthy said in his Monday presser: "We're hitting on all cylinders.''
That includes the Cowboys' red zone prowess ... or lack thereof. Brandon Aubrey has certainly been a special-teams godsend but there's no denying that he wasn't fit to be the headlining star on the scoreboard. Two of Dallas' three losses have come as a result of failure to earn the final 20 yards, leading to turnovers of either the giveaway or downs variety.
On Sunday, however, six of the Cowboys' seven scores required only 14 yards or less.
Brandin Cooks (3) scores one of Dallas' seven touchdowns on Sunday afternoon
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As if entering with the lowest touchdown percentage inside the red zone wasn't enough of a damning message, the Cowboys had a pair of high-profile failures in the red zone against Philadelphia last weekend, ones that cost them precious ground in the NFC East chase. Dallas fans likely braced themselves for the worst when the opening drive stalled inches from the goal line, as their Cowboys failed to capitalize on four opportunities from the Giants' four-yard-line, the latter three coming from the two.
From there on out, however, Dallas successfully pulled off six consecutive end zone entries, each serving as the capper of a long, methodic drive unaccompanied by strong field position. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb's respective historic days through the air will surely go down as the most memorable occasion but history could prove far kinder to such happenings like Brandin Cooks' 173-yard breakout or Rico Dowdle's first NFL touchdown run.
The Giants' visit, which is slowly becoming a national holiday of sorts in Arlington, was the definition of a trap game for the Cowboys. But everything that could've possibly gone right did so, not through excessive strokes of luck but rather through the undeniable high-octane talent they've amassed. Only ime will tell if it proves sustainable, especially against competition that has its eyes on this season rather than the next.
More tune-ups linger on the ledger before a frightening December docket: there will be another chance for the Cowboys to build upon their red zone success next Sunday when they take on the equally reeling Carolina Panthers (12 p.m. CT, Fox).
