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Offensive Overview
On Monday night, the Cowboys had their most efficient offensive showing, with six touchdowns on their first eight drives. Detroit put up a fight in the first half, which ended tied 21-21, but it was all Dallas in the second half. Final Dallas 42, Detroit 21.
Dak Prescott only needed 15 pass completions to rack up 212 yards and three touchdown passes. Ezekiel Elliott carried 12 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 55-yard romp to the pylon. Dak also ran four times for 35 yards, and Darren McFadden ran 14 times for 49 yards. Dez Bryant also threw a TD pass, the first pass of his career.
Offensive Line
There were 57 snaps on offense this week.
Player | Pos | Games | Gms 1-9 | Gm 10 | Gm 11 | Gm 12 | Gm 13 | Gm 14 | Gm 15 | Total | Season | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Travis Frederick | C | 15 | 627 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 57 | 1003 | 1003 | 100% |
Zack Martin | G | 15 | 627 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 57 | 1003 | 1003 | 100% |
Doug Free | T | 15 | 623 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 73 | 57 | 998 | 1003 | 100% |
Tyron Smith | T | 13 | 475 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 42 | 836 | 1003 | 83% |
Ronald Leary | G | 13 | 428 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 57 | 804 | 1003 | 80% |
La'el Collins | G | 3 | 186 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 186 | 1003 | 19% |
Chaz Green | T | 4 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 1003 | 15% |
Joe Looney | C | 15 | 43 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 99 | 1003 | 10% |
Emmett Cleary | T | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 20 | 1003 | 2% |
Tyron Smith ended up with a sprained MCL, which gave fans a scare, but Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett have said he’ll be fine. He’ll miss the Philadelphia game, and get the bye week to heal, and that’s good. Emmett Cleary stepped in for 15 plays and was fine. The four other starters played 100%. Joe Looney was in for 12 plays as an extra blocker.
The line did a great job opening holes for Zeke, who rushed for 80 yards on 12 carries. Darren McFadden added 49 on 14 more. Dak was sacked only once for 11 yards, but otherwise had time to pass the ball down the field.
Rumor is that La’el Collins will be activated off IR in time for the playoffs, presumably to strengthen Dallas’s backup positions.
Quarterback
Player | Pos | Games | Gms 1-9 | Gm 10 | Gm 11 | Gm 12 | Gm 13 | Gm 14 | Gm 15 | Total | Season | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dak Prescott | QB | 15 | 622 | 71 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 57 | 998 | 1003 | 100% |
Mark Sanchez | QB | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1003 | 0% |
Dak had his best game, with a passer rating of 148.3, and adjusted net yards per attempt of 12.42. Overall, Dak was 15 of 20 for 212 yards, three touchdown passes, and four carries for 35 yards, only one of which ended with a slide. See the Dak and Zeke report for more details.
Running Backs
Player | Pos | Games | Gms 1-9 | Gm 10 | Gm 11 | Gm 12 | Gm 13 | Gm 14 | Gm 15 | Total | Season | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 15 | 443 | 50 | 46 | 43 | 44 | 58 | 29 | 713 | 1003 | 71% |
Keith Smith | RB | 15 | 69 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 123 | 1003 | 12% |
Lance Dunbar | RB | 12 | 63 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 116 | 1003 | 12% |
Alfred Morris | RB | 13 | 99 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 1003 | 11% |
Darren McFadden | RB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 1003 | 3% |
Zeke had 80 yards rushing on 12 carries for a 6.7 yard average. He also caught one ball for 12 yards, and ran for two touchdowns. Details in the Dak and Zeke report.
Darren McFadden was the backup running back. He had 21 plays, with 14 carries for 49 yards, including an 18 yard run to get Dallas out from it’s own end zone. Lance Dunbar had four plays, but no carries or targets. Dak Prescott ran four times for 35 yards.
Interestingly, Keith Smith passed Alfred Morris (who was inactive again) for second most snaps among the running backs.
Wide Receivers
Player | Pos | Games | Gms 1-9 | Gm 10 | Gm 11 | Gm 12 | Gm 13 | Gm14 | Gm 15 | Total | Season | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Terrance Williams | WR | 15 | 441 | 43 | 36 | 38 | 52 | 50 | 38 | 698 | 1003 | 70% |
Dez Bryant | WR | 12 | 362 | 62 | 43 | 37 | 61 | 63 | 42 | 670 | 1003 | 67% |
Cole Beasley | WR | 15 | 346 | 44 | 35 | 25 | 42 | 45 | 27 | 564 | 1003 | 56% |
Brice Butler | WR | 15 | 291 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 21 | 387 | 1003 | 39% |
Lucky Whitehead | WR | 14 | 106 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 133 | 1003 | 13% |
Vince Mayle | WR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 1003 | 3% |
Dez Bryant, like Dak, had a highly productive night on only a few plays. He caught two touchdown passes, of 25 and 19 yards, and threw a 10-yard TD pass to Jason Witten, all on only four catches in five targets. He also drew a pass interference call for 31 yards to the Detroit five, setting up another TD. Dez also broke his tie with Michael Irvin for touchdown receptions, and remains only a few behind Bob Hayes for the Cowboys’ team lead.
Terrance Williams had four catches on four targets for 61 yards. Cole Beasley had four catches on five targets for 25 yards. Brice Butler was targeted once and caught it for 21 yards and a touchdown. Lucky Whitehead and Vince Mayle were not targeted.
Tight Ends
Player | Pos | Games | Gms 1-9 | Gm 10 | Gm 11 | Gm 12 | Gm 13 | Gm 14 | Gm 15 | Total | Season | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason Witten | TE | 15 | 624 | 67 | 56 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 56 | 995 | 1003 | 99% |
Geoff Swaim | TE | 9 | 203 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 1003 | 20% |
Gavin Escobar | TE | 15 | 46 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 135 | 1003 | 13% |
Jason Witten missed a snap this week. He caught two passes on four targets, for 33 yards and a touchdown from Dez Bryant. Gavin Escobar was not targeted.
Offensive and special teams snap counts Game 2 - Washington
Offensive snap counts Game 3 - Chicago
Offensive snap counts Game 4 - San Francisco
Offensive snap counts Game 5 - Cincinnati
Offensive snap counts Game 6 - Green Bay
Offensive snap counts Game 7 - Philadelphia
Offensive snap counts Game 8 - Cleveland
Offensive snap counts Game 9 - Pittsburgh
Offensive snap counts Game 10 - Baltimore
Offensive snap counts Game 11 - Washington
Offensive snap counts Game 12 - Minnesota