FRISCO, TX — There is no more waiting for the Dallas Cowboys to explode on offense, especially after seeing what they did to the New York Giants on Sunday. Their 49-17 victory is simply the latest showing of their offensive groove over the last four games, a stretch that's seen them go 3-1 and very nearly 4-0, if not for a narrow loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb were ablaze in that contest as well though, but you can now add Brandin Cooks to the conversation for lethal weapons at the disposal of head coach Mike McCarthy, the team's play-caller in 2023.
For his part, McCarthy points at the offensive line play against the Giants as the genesis of the dominance witnessed at AT&T Stadium in Week 10.
"Every game you come out, you fit the run to the pass," he said. "But, most importantly, it starts with protection. This was, by far, our best protection performance. I know earlier in the year, we were a little bit up-and-down as to how we wanted to play versus how we did play. I think, this past month, we're hitting on all cylinders."
That is saying the least.
Prescott has thrown for 13 touchdowns to only two interceptions over the past four games, Lamb has amassed 617 receiving yards and, just this past weekend, the Cowboys' offense racked up more than 600 yards of total offense.
It's also the second week back for starting left tackle Tyron Smith who, again, delivered an exceptional game on the blindside white Terence Steele had a strong bounce back after struggling in the recent weeks prior.
It also allowed for the rushing attack to finally get going, as Rico Dowdle marched forward to a career-best day of his own, **one he admitted “means a lot”** when considering his path to this point.
"We're getting through the run schemes that are able to carry over into the actual pass game, and we're doing a lot more third down," said McCarthy. "This was a huge challenge to us with the amount of pressure we were up against yesterday. I think we took a big step in that area. And I do think it's a product of us hitting our stride a little bit."
There are still some items to figure out going forward, because the Cowboys have still not played a perfect game but, to be frank, that tidbit alone should put the league on notice.
If this is what it looks like when they play great, but imperfect football, what does it look like when they play mistake-free?
That's what McCarthy and the Cowboys intend to find out.
