Cowboys hope to keep offense revved up
It’s interesting that the Dallas Cowboys will try to fire up their offensive engine this week inside the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Interesting because the Cowboys still aren’t sure whether they have a sports car or a clunker for an offense.
A few weeks ago, Dallas traded for Oakland wide receiver Amari Cooper, giving up a first-round pick in 2019 in hopes that Cooper would be the spark plug the Cowboys’ offense needed. In its first test drive, Cooper scored a touchdown, but Dallas couldn’t generate enough momentum on offense in a 28-14 loss to the Titans on Monday Night Football.
But then everything clicked into place as Dallas notched its first road victory of the season by defeating the Eagles, 27-20, last Sunday night. Cooper caught six passes for 75 yards, and his presence seemed to open things up for other Dallas receivers like Michael Gallup (two catches, 34 yards) and Allen Hurns (two catches, 40 yards). Quarterback Dak Prescott suddenly seems to have a dangerous group of targets and that’s making life a lot easier for the Cowboys’ premier offensive weapon.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott had his second most productive game this season as he rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and caught six passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
That’s 7.48 yards per touch. Not quite the 8.2 per touch he piled up in a victory over Detroit in late September, but good enough for his talent to translate to a Dallas win.
“Getting him the ball, I think, is a priority for us,” Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said on Wednesday. “Whether you hand it to him or throw it to him, he can have a positive impact on the game.”
That’s classic Garrett understatement.
Even with Cooper having a positive influence on Dallas’s passing game, the book on the Cowboys is still a simple one: Stop Elliott and you stop Dallas.
But that might not be easy for Atlanta. The Falcons have the 27th-ranked defense in the NFL. They’re slightly better against the run, ranking 21st. That’s a good sign for the Cowboys, who can begin a season turnaround by claiming a victory in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
SERIES HISTORY: 26th regular-season meeting. Cowboys lead series, 14-11. In an odd bit of scheduling, Dallas travels to Atlanta for the second straight season. The Falcons dealt Dallas a painful 27-7 defeat last November that started a Cowboys three-game skid.
