Dallas Cowboys: 5 Bold predictions vs. Packers, Week 5
By Randy Gurzi
2. Kellen Moore calls 10-plus play-action passes
One of the many things that really frustrated Dallas fans in their last outing was the complete lack of play-action passes. Throughout their first three wins, the fake handoff was a staple of the Kellen Moore offense and Dak Prescott was shredding opponents with it.
According to John Owning of Dallas News, the Cowboys starter was playing out of his mind on these pass attempts:
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"“Coming into the game, Prescott had been outstanding using play action, going 30 of 37 (81.1% completion rate) for 409 yards (11.1 YPA), four touchdowns and an interception. He was tied for the NFL lead in touchdown passes off play action, third in completion percentage and passing yards, fifth in YPA and sixth in passer rating (137.5).” — Owning, Dallas News"
Despite this, they used the play-action only seven times. Even more infuriating was the calls were working as Dak was 6-of-7 for 65 yards according to Owning. Still, Moore continued to shy away from the calls and the offense looked eerily like the one Scott Linehan called for years.
Moore hopefully spent this whole week disgusted with himself while watching the film. Now back in Dallas without the hyped-up crowd, look for him to be in better control as he gets back to the offense he showed in Week 1-3. They may not score 30 points, but don’t be shocked if they have more than 10 play-action passes as they get back on track.