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Snap Counts For The Cowboys’ Offense: An Efficient Devastation Of The Lions

Who played, and who produced, for the Dallas Cowboys offense? In our weekly look at the snap counts, we’ll evaluate whether Dallas is using its players well, and how well each of them is producing.

NFL: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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

Snap counts at the bye

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

Offensive snap counts Game 13 - New York

Offensive snap counts Game 14 - Tampa Bay

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