Dallas Cowboys look to recalibrate offense with Andy Dalton at QB for Dak Prescott
The Dallas Cowboys have spent much of the last two days transitioning their offense into an attack that will be led by Andy Dalton as its quarterback for the remainder of the season as they continue to process the loss of star quarterback Dak Prescott.
“My focus is more on Dak and to make sure that he gets the mental and emotional support,” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “I think it’s important for us at this time, and not just during these first couple days, but just to make sure that he’s getting the support from us to help him on his journey back.”
After having successful surgery Sunday night to prepare compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle, Prescott was discharged from the hospital and sent home to begin a four-to-six month recovery and rehab process.
“He’s in very good spirits,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I know he’s excited to get home and start the journey back as you would expect from Dak. So, but, he’s doing okay.”
The Cowboys will reshape the offense to feature what Dalton does best going forward. McCarthy said they won’t have to change much, but they will need to recalibrate some things.
“I think you really answered it. You recalibrate,” McCarthy said. “There’s always a process of things you may do more of, may not do as much. But I think we all recognize that it’s heightened at that position and we’re fortunate to have Andy here. We still have to make sure we give our players a game plan with all the tools necessary to win the game. And Andy will lead the charge there on offense.”
Dalton is a former TCU star who started the past nine seasons with Cincinnati Bengals before being released to make room for No. 1 pick Joe Burrow.
He signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys to play close to home because of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is from Houston, but makes his offseason home in Dallas.
The Cowboys jumped at the opportunity to add some proven veteran insurance behind Prescott and it paid immediate dividends with Dalton leading the team to a 37-34 comeback victory against the New York Giants after Prescott went down in the third quarter.
“I think that he was available, number one, and more importantly the timing of it was a bit of a surprise,” McCarthy said. So, it was a unique situation. We were very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to bring him here and really from day one he’s been a great fit. His experience speaks for itself. His ability to go into the game yesterday and perform at the way he did. He put us in position to kick the field goal to win the game.”
Dalton completed nine of 11 passes for 111 yards in emergency duty against the Giants, including completions of 19 and 38 yards to Michael Gallup in the final minute to set up the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore doesn’t believe the playbook has to change but they will have to regroup and reshape some things with Dalton. That starts with getting on the same page with their own relationship.
“Obviously it’s a different dynamic,” Moore said. “Dak and I have spent a lot of time together over these years, and now it’s just Andy and I have to spend time together and go through this process together. I think it’s spending time as we put this game plan together — calls, text messages throughout the week. What he’s most comfortable with, make sure we’re talking along the same lines. We feel very confident that Andy can go out there and execute football plays and do a good job for us”
While Dalton has some mobility to move in the pocket, he is not the runner that Prescott is so the Cowboys will likely take the quarterback draws, option plays and zone read plays out of the offense.
Also look for them to lean on the ground game and running back Ezekiel Elliott to take some pressure off of Dalton and achieve more balance on offense.
Elliott had 19 carries 91 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. Tony Pollard added 30 yards on six carries as the Cowboys amassed 126 yards on a season-high 29 carries in the game.
The Cowboys believe Dalton has enough accuracy and the football IQ to connect on big plays to receivers Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.
But the run game will be a huge key going forward. It was a process that began in the second quarter before Prescott’s injury on a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that featured 11 runs and three passes.
“We want to be able to run the football, be in an action pass game, first and second down,” McCarthy said. “That’s the kind of game we want to play. We did that [against the Giants], and we need to do an even better job of it.”
The key is eliminating the turnovers that have plagued the Cowboys through the first five games. They have had at least two turnovers in each of the last four games.
The big question is whether the Cowboys, who are in first place in the NFC East at 2-3, can win enough games with Dalton at quarterback to win the division and make the playoffs.
