At the moment of truth, the Cowboys offense fails to produce against pressure: Decoding Kellen Moore

 It is the conclusion of this media voice that the lion’s share of disappointment for 2021 must fall on the shoulders of this offense. Despite delightful statistical accumulation, the Cowboys demonstrated again that they did not have the ability to score and accumulate when it counted most. We have seen this before, but in these win-or-go-home moments, it should fall to the offense to demonstrate what it has done with the assets from this organization. In a salary-capped league with a finite amount of resources, almost everything is constantly being given to the offense. Compensation along the offensive line, skill positions, and, lest we forget, quarterback, is among the highest in the sport. They have dedicated resource after resource to build an unstoppable attack.

https://theathletic.com/3076740/2022/01/18/at-the-moment-of-truth-the-cowboys-offense-fails-to-produce-against-pressure-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys offense reveals tactical wrinkles as they head to the playoffs: Decoding Kellen Moore

 The regular season has been completed. There is very little that the Cowboys can now say about this 2021 season that they haven’t had every opportunity to say. Narratives have been written and opinions have been heard. But the only thing that can change where they have been stuck for years upon years will happen in the days and (possibly) weeks to come.

https://theathletic.com/3061918/2022/01/11/cowboys-offense-reveals-tactical-wrinkles-as-they-head-to-the-playoffs-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys saved their worst offensive performance for Week 17: Decoding Kellen Moore

 We certainly hoped that the undefeated month of December and the laugher vs. Washington for Christmas dinner was a sign that the Cowboys were emerging from their prolonged offensive slump. They have (had) almost all of their pieces in place and now the simple hopes of taking a beat-up Arizona defense to task on Sunday seemed a reasonable goal.

But, now we know better.

Their first offensive performance of 2022 was putrid. There is simply no other nice way to say it.

https://theathletic.com/3050552/2022/01/04/cowboys-saved-their-worst-offensive-performance-for-week-17-decoding-kellen-moore/

The Cowboys get right on offense by strong strategic mauling of Washington: Decoding Kellen Moore

 Since the start of November, the journey for this Cowboys offense has been a bit of a struggle. We have evaluated a number of elements that range from the health of a calf muscle, the relative blocking prowess of a tight end who doesn’t really ever block, a debate whether a marginal roster player is actually better than a $50 million right tackle, thoughts that the TCU job might be distracting the offensive coordinator and about a thousand other half-baked premises.

https://theathletic.com/3039020/2021/12/29/the-cowboys-get-right-on-offense-by-strong-strategic-mauling-of-washington-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys’ win in New York is nice, but the offense needs to be much better: Decoding Kellen Moore

 The object of this Tuesday series which we have been doing for more than a decade is to break down the offense in such a way where we can define what the Cowboys are trying to accomplish and evaluate how well they are doing that. Basically to establish what the offense alone is doing to help or hurt the team.

Often, we can go in different directions each week and break things down from a 30,000-foot view of it all.

https://theathletic.com/3029230/2021/12/21/cowboys-win-in-new-york-is-nice-but-the-offense-needs-to-be-much-better-decoding-kellen-moore/

What on earth happened to the Cowboys offense and Dak Prescott? Decoding Kellen Moore

 Family meeting time. We need to have a dialogue about Dak Prescott.

This isn’t about fueling the haters and the folks who love nothing more than Dallas in a funk. It is about acknowledging an issue and then trying to trace back to the source of it so we can gain an understanding.

https://theathletic.com/3015559/2021/12/14/what-on-earth-happened-to-the-cowboys-offense-and-dak-prescott-decoding-kellen-moore/

The Cowboys cannot run the ball right now and it is killing efficiency: Decoding Kellen Moore

 Now that we have all had the weekend to process another Cowboys loss on Thanksgiving — you can definitely catch up on my more general thoughts from the Morning After column here — it is time to really face some realities.

The Cowboys are still going to be heralded as a top offense in the NFL, because they are. They are still tops in the league in yards per game and top five in several other spots. As long as the league marketing machine measures quality based on total yardage, I guess they are still a heavyweight.

https://theathletic.com/2985482/2021/11/29/cowboys-cannot-run-the-ball-right-now-and-it-is-killing-efficiency-decoding-kellen-moore/

The Cowboys’ game planning is called into question in Kansas City loss: Decoding Kellen Moore

 Adrian Clayborn will never be forgotten for what he did to the Cowboys’ offensive plan in Atlanta in 2017 and more specifically Chaz Green.

Well, Chris Jones was far more equal opportunity. The former college teammate of Dak Prescott’s at Mississippi State had an absurd seven splash plays with 3 1/2 sacks, recovered a fumble, forced another one and also tipped a pass that became an interception. He destroyed the Cowboys front and he was kind enough to give everyone a chance to block him. From Connor McGovern to Zack Martin, nobody could block him. He was in the banana stand and then he was in it again.

https://theathletic.com/2973168/2021/11/23/the-cowboys-game-planning-is-called-into-question-in-kansas-city-loss-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys continue to treat fourth down as their true weapon: Decoding Kellen Moore

 On Sunday, the Cowboys converted 6-of-14 third downs for a very passable day of 43 percent. NFL league average is just slightly below 40 percent, so you enter every game and hope for 50 percent and settle for above 40 percent.

But, the Cowboys were able to add three additional fourth-down conversions to push a 43 percent day to a 64 percent day by simply “going for it.”

https://theathletic.com/2959137/2021/11/16/cowboys-continue-to-treat-fourth-down-as-their-true-weapon-decoding-kellen-moore/

Did Vic Fangio show the world a blueprint for beating the Cowboys? Doubtful. Decoding Kellen Moore

 This one was pretty rough. For the Cowboys offense to have this much going for it and this many games of looking unchallenged to then run into a team in that condition and look that poorly was quite a shock.

Down roughly six starters from their normal defense, the Denver Broncos are now going to be studied as a team that slowed down an offense that was starting to get chatter as unstoppable. What was their secret? What did they try to do?

https://theathletic.com/2944305/2021/11/09/did-vic-fangio-show-the-world-a-blueprint-for-beating-the-cowboys-doubtful-decoding-kellen-moore/

Attacking on third-and-long with a backup QB captures a Cowboys win: Decoding Kellen Moore

 The Cowboys won a meaningful game with a backup quarterback starting. If you have been following this team for very long, you should be aware that this sort of thing is rather rare. We have witnessed countless occasions where the Cowboys would hardly even make an effort to try to win a game with a backup QB, making us think that nobody but Tony Romo could possibly run their offense.

https://theathletic.com/2929085/2021/11/02/attacking-on-third-and-long-with-a-backup-qb-captures-a-cowboys-win-decoding-kellen-moore/

Is there a fatal flaw with the Cowboys’ offense in the red zone? Decoding Kellen Moore

 As the bye week comes and goes, the Cowboys prepare for a stretch that they hope begins with QB1 in full health on Sunday night. Dak Prescott is said to be “good to go” after his calf strain, but we will know more as time creeps closer. We will over-report on this soon enough.

https://theathletic.com/2913224/2021/10/26/is-there-a-fatal-flaw-with-the-cowboys-offense-in-the-red-zone-decoding-kellen-moore/

Behind the power of 12 personnel, the Cowboys put the NFL on notice: Decoding Kellen Moore

 In a game of moments to scream at and about, the biggest moment of the night was the walk-off touchdown hit on a beautiful bootleg from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb. It represented what this team is all about:

A run threat that sets up a brilliant passing opportunity through play-action and a rollout into a defensive secondary that is stretched too thin to slow down a receiver in so much space. To watch Lamb pull away from Jalen Mills was an exercise that was almost run at practice speed with its simplicity and devastation.

https://theathletic.com/2898566/2021/10/19/behind-the-power-of-12-personnel-the-cowboys-put-the-nfl-on-notice-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys continue to boss games with another dominating offensive day: Decoding Kellen Moore

 We discussed on Monday that this team is certainly much better after five games than the teams that came before it and necessitated massive coaching changes. You may recall that the 2018 team felt like it was on the verge of something pretty special after its playoff win against Seattle and then falling just short in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

https://theathletic.com/2883698/2021/10/12/cowboys-continue-to-boss-games-with-another-dominating-offensive-day-decoding-kellen-moore/

The Cowboys’ offense continues its lethal pace by beating the blitz: Decoding Kellen Moore

 We expected a true test for this Cowboys’ offense Sunday. It would be an opportunity to see what a team that was top-ranked in more than a few categories might do to slow down this machine.

Since securing Dak Prescott’s contract and the healing of Prescott, Tyron Smith and Zack Martin in the offseason, the expectation level was high enough around here that Prescott being on the fringe of MVP chatter was now an expectation — not a ridiculous dream.

https://theathletic.com/2868386/2021/10/05/the-cowboys-offense-continues-its-lethal-pace-by-beating-the-blitz-decoding-kellen-moore/

Anatomy of the Cowboys’ opening touchdown drive right off the script: Decoding Kellen Moore

 The Cowboys’ offense is performing at a very high level. They took apart the Eagles with relative ease that left us with almost no complaints.

Now, there were a few … aside from the problems at each goal line that almost put the Eagles right in the game — the chaos on one end that ended with an Eagles free TD as Fletcher Cox celebrated a rare touchdown — and the touchdown that wasn’t on the fourth-and-goal QB sneak where somehow they couldn’t prove that Dak Prescott clearly broke the plane of the end zone.

https://theathletic.com/2856527/2021/09/29/anatomy-of-the-cowboys-opening-touchdown-drive-right-off-the-script-decoding-kellen-moore/

Cowboys O-Line crumples against NFC East foe again. What’s next? Decoding Kellen

 If you want to destroy an offensive gameplan, simply attack the offensive line. Better yet, attack previous offensive lines and spook a team before the game even begins.

https://theathletic.com/2303267/2021/01/05/dallas-cowboys-offensive-line-future-connor/

Perception versus reality: The 2019 Cowboys, feat. The People vs. Kellen Moore

 https://theathletic.com/1955257/2020/07/28/perception-versus-reality-the-2019-cowboys-feat-the-people-vs-kellen-moore/

Decoding Kellen Moore: The Cowboys’ 2019 offense includes more questions than answers

https://theathletic.com/1178733/2019/09/03/decoding-kellen-moore-the-cowboys-2019-offense-includes-more-questions-than-answers/

What went wrong with the Cowboys’ offense, what went right and how two men might fix it

https://theathletic.com/1110704/2019/08/02/what-went-wrong-with-the-cowboys-offense-what-went-right-and-how-two-men-might-fix-it/