With a 10-3 record through the first 13 games of the season, the Dallas Cowboys sit in a similar position as they did at this time a year ago but with a different feeling around the team.
After all, they did just beat the Philadelphia Eagles rather handily to pull into a tie for first place in the NFC East, whereas last season, the Eagles ran away with the division.
“I don’t know when we played any better against a quality opponent since [head coach] Mike’s [McCarthy] been here,” team owner Jerry Jones told Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, “… I think this is a product of what he’s about probably more so than any one game that we’ve played since he’s been the coach.”
While last season ended with a playoff loss for the second consecutive season, leading to changes throughout the coaching staff and the organization, Jones believes his team has progressed and is ready to maintain its high level of play down the stretch because of McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott.
“When a head coach — that I call a ‘walk-around head coach’ — has been walking around or been around all phases of football, they have a little different perspective when they’re calling the plays on offense if they’re the coordinator as well,” Jones explained. “It’s more complementary, and I think we’re getting the benefit of that.”
Prescott is a critical piece of the puzzle. Many were unsure how the coordinator change would affect him, but it is working out so far. The eight-year veteran has substantially decreased the rate at which he is turning over the ball while throwing for over 3,500 yards and the third-most single-season touchdown passes of his career with four games left to play.
“I think Dak’s adaptation to the direction [McCarthy] wanted us to go in is big,” Jones said.
When talking about the Cowboys, most people will jump right to the defense, which has been the premier unit in the league since Dan Quinn became the defensive coordinator in January 2021. However, despite its vaunted defense, the Cowboys have only won one playoff game during his tenure and have scored more than 30 points in a playoff game just once since 2018.
With a league-leading average of 32.4 points per game this year, the “complementary football” about which McCarthy constantly preaches seems to be coming together, and Jones believes the team is peaking at the right time.
“We have evolved in [the] execution in our offense, and we’re closer to the kinds of things that Mike had in mind when he started putting these adjustments into the offense last spring,” he told The Fan. “We’re executing those. More importantly, the players believe in those nuances of this offense.”
Can they continue to execute as they fight for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and try to make a long run toward a Super Bowl title?
