Unnamed Washington Football Team Defender Speaks Scary Truth About Dallas Cowboys Offense: ‘Y’all Need to Slow This Down’
The Washington Football Team got boat raced by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16. Washington lost, 56-14. It was the most points the Cowboys have put up on the scoreboard since 1980.
For as dominant as the Cowboys were, Washington, losers of three-straight, was absolutely terrible in the game. In fact, if you were to believe a story from Dallas wideout Amari Cooper, the WFT was pathetic.
Washington couldn’t keep up with the Dallas Cowboys’ explosive offense
The Cowboys have one of the best offenses in the NFL, and that was on full display against Washington in Week 16. While Dallas certainly has the personnel to ground and pound, and that may make the most sense in the playoffs as Ezekiel Elliott gets healthy, what the Cowboys showed off against the WFT was what they call their “fastball offense.”
That’s a fancy term for up-tempo, but whatever you call it, it worked against Washington.
Dallas put up 497 total yards of offense in Week 16, averaging an awesome 6.8 yards per play. The Cowboys were an incredible 10-of-15 on third down and perfect in the red zone, going 6-of-6 in that all-important part of the field.
The Cowboys were so fast and explosive that an unnamed Washington player actually told Cooper to slow the offense down.
“I noticed even last week, when we weren’t playing fast we weren’t as productive, but when we started speeding things up, we were extremely productive and those guys were tired,” Cooper said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I heard one of the guys, he told me to my face, ‘Y’all need to slow this down. I’m tired.’ So I know how effective it is.”
The defense gets the headlines, but Dallas’ offense is legit
The Cowboys have a defense that features the likely defensive rookie of the year in Micah Parsons and a cornerback in Trevon Diggs, who is getting some MVP chatter. Dallas is stacked on defense and scary as heck when that unit gets some momentum.
So yes, it makes sense that Dallas’ defense is the talk of the town, but as we saw against Washington, the offense deserves some hype as well.
At the time of this writing, the Cowboys have the top-ranked offense in the NFL. This is a unit that leads the league in both yards per game (409.5) and points per game (30.5). And sure, the big numbers against Washington did help, but Dallas has consistently been among the top-ranked offenses in the league all season long. Case in point, if you take away the explosive game against Washington, Dallas is still scoring 28.6 points per game, which only a few teams in the league have been able to consistently do this season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars requested to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for their vacant head coaching position, and there’s a reason for that.
He’s overseeing the top offense in football. It may not have felt that way when Dallas was struggling with a 1-3 record in the month of November, but the numbers don’t lie. As impressive as the Cowboys are on defense, the offense has some star power as well.
How good can the Cowboys be on offense?
On paper, the Cowboys have an offense that should be able to keep pace with teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers in the NFC playoffs.
Dallas has arguably the best receiver depth in the league. A number of NFL teams would jump at the chance to have either CeeDee Lamb or Michael Gallup line up as their top receiver. Tight end Dalton Schultz has become a tremendous receiving option for Dallas as well. He’s notched 733 yards and has six touchdown catches so far this season, and he’s become a strong safety valve for quarterback Dak Prescott.
Speaking of Prescott, he really is the key to making this thing tick for the Cowboys. When he’s on, the Cowboys have one of the scariest offenses in the league. He’s a smart player and more than capable of utilizing the weapons Jerry Jones has put around him. Speaking of weapons, we’ve barely mentioned Elliott. He has been banged up for much of the season but seems to be getting close to 100%. He showed a flash of the elite player he can be when healthy with his two touchdowns against Washington. If the Cowboys get that Elliott in the playoffs, they’re going to be a very tough out.
So how good can the Cowboys be on offense? The sky is the limit.
Now the question is this: Can Dallas live up to the hype and expectations in the playoffs?
That’s a question only the Cowboys can answer, and no stats will help us predict which way it will go.
Stats courtesy of ESPN and Pro Football Reference.
