What we learned about new Dallas Cowboys offense under Mike McCarthy: Winning over stats

One of the biggest story lines for the Dallas Cowboys heading into last Sunday’s season opener against the New York Giants was the new look offense under coach Mike McCarthy.

What would it look like compared to the explosive units led by fired-offensive coordinator Kellen Moore the past few seasons and how would it impact quarterback Dak Prescott, who has directed the Cowboys to the most points per game as a starter since 2021 but led the NFL in interceptions in 2022?

So many questions so few answers in the team’s 40-0 victory against the Giants in what was a muted performance by the offense due to the driving rain and to the dominance on defense and special teams that put the score out of reach early on.

That Prescott completed just 13 of 24 passes for 143 yards and the offense tallied just 265 yards in total offense had many, particularly those who play fantasy football, frustrated with the quarterback and with what they saw from the offense.

Breaking news: McCarthy doesn’t care about your fantasy team or your thoughts and neither does Prescott.

Sure, there were four dropped passes, including a potential touchdown in the end zone by tight end Peyton Hendershot, that would have made the stats look a little better.

But know this: McCarthy’s primary focus is on winning rather putting up gaudy stats and being the No. 1 offense in the league.

Also know that the Cowboys didn’t unveil even half of their planned attack against the Giants because of the weather and then the lopsided score.

The focus was taking care of the football and limiting turnovers. The Cowboys had none while the Giants threw two interceptions, had five fumbles, including one lost, and had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown.

So what did McCarthy like about the offense?

“A number of things. I thought the adjustment to go to the rain plan worked,” McCarthy said. “We watched the rain all week. Opportunity to do wet ball drills. So the adjustment to the rain plan, I thought our players handled it seamlessly. There were a number of packages, one got canceled out in the second quarter. A number of things at halftime. I think anytime you get into, we always talk about boundary discipline, communication, the network, that’s really our first opportunity as a staff and with our starters this year. I was really impressed with the communication between the coach and the players throughout the game, making the adjustments.

“I thought Dak and the guys who handled the ball for the most part, they did an excellent job. To come out of that game with zero gives, I’ve played in a lot of bad weather games. Very impressed with what our players are able to get done.”

Prescott won for just third time in his career to six losses when he passed for under 150 yards in a game. The first two came in 2016 and 2017.

He is now 42-11 when he has no interceptions and 35-7 when he commits no turnovers.

Certainly, this won’t be the game plan every week and those won’t be the results.

Just know that the focus is on winning first and foremost, not stats.

And there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the stats will come.

The Cowboys have too many explosive players on offense and what is the fastest unit in years with receivers CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Kavontae Turpin and running back Tony Pollard and Deuce Vaughn for them not to light up up the scoreboard.

The difference this year under McCarthy is how are going to go about doing it.

The thing that jumps out first about addition of the West Coast offense is Prescott getting the ball out quickly.

Prescott recorded an average time to throw of 2.11 seconds on his pass attempts against the Giants. According to Pro Football Focus, it was the fastest time among starting quarterbacks during the opening weekend.

McCarthy talked about wanting to run the ball more than they did last year. And Cowboys had 30 rushes to 24 passes. The altered game plan due to the weather was a factor.

But the Cowboys accomplished the goal, rushing 30 times for 122 yards in the game.

Pollard led the way with 14 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Rico Dowdle and KaVontae Turpin averaged more than yards a carry as well, rushing six times for 24 yards and three times for 14 yards, respectively.

And it was the use of Turpin, a 155-pound speedy kick returner, as running back that opened the most eyes, especially a 7-yard touchdown run off tackle on the goal line.

“I think, it’s like anything, it’s creating opportunities for your play makers to touch the ball and he’s a play maker,” McCarthy said of Turpin. “Now, I’m not gonna be running him all day. [Cowboys owner] Jerry [Jones] asked me, ‘So are we gonna run power with Turp?’ And I said, ‘Well technically it was an outside zone.’

“But yeah, you just gotta find different ways and we’ll do that.”

Getting different guys the ball and finding different ways to get the ball in the hands of the play makers is also part of the new philosophy of not chasing big plays but letting big plays come to them.

That is a new emphasis for Prescott to help cut back on turnovers. The Cowboys have enough play makers to make big plays by getting the ball into their hands quickly and letting them do their thing.

Again, Turpin was a perfect example. But Cowboys also got a 25-yard run from Pollard, a 10-yard run from Dowdle, a 49-yard rception from Lamb, a 16-yard reception from Cooks, who also drew three penalties on defense, including a 37-yard interference flag.

“We do want to have everybody involved,” McCarthy said. “It was very important, going into the offseason, to make sure (KaVontae Turpin) was given the opportunity to be an offensive football player. I didn’t want him to be a gadget guy. That’s what he was last year. You can see how he was given some opportunities. This is what we’ve been working on since the spring. I was proud of him. He was put in a number of different positions and he had some production, scored a touchdown.

“That’s what we’re looking for. It’s a long year. When you’re in there as an offensive staff, it’s about getting the play makers the ball, that’s our job and that’s the way we design it. Get the ball spread around. It makes everybody better. Everybody wants to touch it too. We understand that. To have everybody contribute, that’s what team football is about.”

It’s also what winning football is going to be about for the Cowboys under McCarthy in 2023.