Cowboys QB Dak Prescott looked more comfortable vs. Giants — that was by design

Well, that wasn’t the throwback performance from the crime that Dallas Cowboys fans had been hoping for, was it? Dallas earned just 328 yards in 70 plays (4.7 yards per game) against the New York Giants on Sunday. The Cowboys’ only two landing drives started from the Giants 13 and 29 yard lines, respectively. It certainly wasn’t an inspiring display of confidence against an inferior defense.

However, there were things to build on. Quarterback Duck Prescott played a cleaner game and looked more comfortable overall. He’s the most important player on this team, so any signs that he’s about to come out of his slump matter. Tony Pollard is also back in the lineup, adding some much-needed juice to your running game.

Let’s dive in.

conservative attack approach

It’s possible that the circumstances of the game have dictated some of the cowboys’ approach to attacking. Dallas knew that the Giants couldn’t move the ball on them, so why take so many risks? With Tyron Smith off the left, why attack on the field and risk Prescott holding the ball longer than the protection can handle?

It also appears that a lot of the offensive game plan revolves around getting Prescott comfortable again. Keelen Moore used more throws striped with simplified readings. For example, he called three pre-playable passes on the opening drive to try to get Prescott some easy completions out of the gate:

We’ve also seen a few RPOs (hover options) that Dallas likes to use, which once again gives Prescott a quick, clear read. In the RPO below, see how the drag guard helped sway the linebacker, creating a clear throwing lane for Prescott:

This was a game clearly aimed at beating Prescott with short, fast passes. He threw the ball less than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage on 30 of 37 passes (81.1%), well above his season average of 66.4%, according to Pro Football Focus. Compare it to a baseball hit mired in a slump and take an approach that focuses more on hitting the ball in the other direction until he gets his timing back. The home run will come once things get rearranged.

For the Cowboys, the race never came home, at least on this day. Dallas has not had a single play that has gained more than 20 yards as an offense. The only time there seemed to be a chance, Lyle Collins was sent back to Prescott, preventing him from getting the ball far enough into the Michael Gallup Open:

Duck looked better

While Prescott did not throw for several yards, Prescott managed to complete over 75% of his passes. The Cowboys were able to transform in over 50% of the third apprentices as well. Most importantly, Prescott looked better later in the play than he had in recent weeks.

Below, you can see him working through his readings from the right side of the field all the way to the left flat. He almost ran back into the apartment, but at the last moment noticed the corner sitting there. So he rushed and found a man who was open:

This is a good sign that he sees the field better.

In this next play, watch the poise with which Prescott read the defense and finally find his receiver open. First, notice that the Giants were bringing two bats to Prescott’s right and dropping the defenders from his left.

Prescott seemed right at first and noticed the blitzkrieg. With the defenders left under it, his first reading died:

Prescott quickly learned about coverage. This was 3-under 3-depth:

In this coverage, external roads are generally free from under defenders. Knowing this, Prescott immediately turned his hips to the left after his first reading was deleted, and found two open receivers operating on the return/axial paths:

Taking the easiest inward throw:

Note, too, that Prescott was barely reacting to the blitzkrieg. The Cowboys, on paper, didn’t necessarily have the numbers on the right side of the formation to capture this. Prescott did not panic. He could sense how far after the blitzkrieg he was and knew he had time. All he had to do was slide left to buy a split second more and deliver the ball:

This is a high-ranking midfielder. He shouted to the center Tyler Biadasz (#63) who went to look for work after he had no one to hold back and picked up one of the giants’ two strikes.

Prescott’s pass to land in the third quarter was the same. He looked away from running fake, turned right back right, used the rear throttle to gain time, then found an open receiver to land:

There were other throws throughout the day that suggested Prescott was getting more comfortable, too. Watch the jib movement here:

Prescott was moving hard to his left and eventually had to make a throw without his feet completely under him due to the pressure. This is a really tough throw, but he manages to complete it.

Prescott wasn’t without his flaws on Sunday. This spin was in the middle of the fourth quarter while he was up 21-6 against an offense who couldn’t do anything unexplained:

Prescott was looking to shoot that ball across the field into a double-covered receiver. This ball may have been caught if he had thrown it. This was the third week in a row that Prescott committed to a quarter-round with the Cowboys in the lead and looks to make the game icy. Needless to say, this cannot continue.

It’s good to see Pollard back

After missing last week’s game against Washington (football), Pollard is back in the squad. He provided the boost needed for his running game as well, finishing 74 yards on 12 buggies.

Here he was with goalkeeper Conor McGovern on the field:

That hole wasn’t huge. Pollard also had to hit a defender who had thrown his punch to get to the edge. This is the blast that Pollard brings to this running game. He added about 15 yards to that run by hitting a potential player 1-on-1 to the perimeter.

Pollard finished in three runs of 12 yards or more (three of the Cowboys’ seven biggest offensive plays of the day). Assuming he’s healthy, he needs to keep getting a healthy share of the loads.

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