Watkins: Five takeaways from the Cowboys' win over the Redskins, including Dak Prescott's perfect second half*

Cotton

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Prescott has seven touchdown passes through two games this season.

By Calvin Watkins

3:01 PM on Sep 15, 2019

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Cowboys moved to 2-0 with a commanding 31-21 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday. Dallas' offense has stormed through the first two weeks of the season with more anointing oil being needed for offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

With that, here are five takeaways from Sunday's victory:

Dak Prescott is near-perfect

It was a near-perfect game for quarterback Dak Prescott. Outside of an interception on a pass that bounced off receiver Randall Cobb's hands, Prescott's early-season results are getting better and better. He completed 18 consecutive passes, including a perfect 14-for-14 in the second half. Overall, Prescott completed 26 of 30 passes for 269 yards with three touchdowns and the INT. Prescott has seven touchdown passes through two games. In the first two games of his first three seasons in the NFL, Prescott has a combined four touchdowns and two interceptions. This is a much-improved quarterback we're seeing right now. Prescott's 42-yard run was a thing of beauty and we should see more of that.

Cowboys offense moving well

It's hard to duplicate what the Cowboys offense did in the season-opening victory against the Giants. Yet, the Cowboys, after their first three drives ended with no scores, produced points on the next five drives and you never got the feeling the game was getting away from them. There were so many bright spots, from Michael Gallup's six-catch, 68-yard effort, Prescott gaining 42 yards while keeping the ball on a run-pass option and of course the 51-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith and the side-armed throw to him in the fourth quarter. The motion, play-action passes and offense line protection were fantastic. If you want to find any negatives, it occurred with guard Connor Williams, who was flagged for a holding call and struggled a bit in pass protection. The only other negative was the late third-quarter drive where the Cowboys moved the ball to the Washington 3 yard-line only to have to settle for a field goal.

Return of the deep ball

If you're looking for changes with the Cowboys offense, look no further than the deep pass. Prescott targeted Gallup on a long incompletion in the first half and connected with Smith on a touchdown. Prescott also had Jason Witten wide open for a long throw but threw a shorter pass. Prescott might have had a completion to Gallup, who was wide open after beating a confused Washington corner Josh Norman. Prescott threw the ball toward the sidelines but Gallup turned around too late and missed it. On the touchdown pass, Smith ran a skinny post and with no safety in the middle of the field, thanks to the motion of Amari Cooper, it allowed a one-on-one situation for the Cowboys. Prescott, with time, found Smith and the Cowboys tied the score 7-7. One of the better plays in the third quarter was Prescott finding tight end Blake Jarwin for a 22-yard pass down the field.

CB Byron Jones tested early

After playing 27 snaps in the Week 1 victory over the Giants, Byron Jones returned to full-time duty vs. the Redskins. He was tested early as Washington quarterback Case Keenum targeted him on a deep pass with the first play of the game. Jones was able to break up the pass. Later, Jones made a good open-field tackle, but he was beaten in single coverage later in the second half. Jones was beaten on the final score of the game with 2:17 left.

A possible roster opening

The Cowboys will need to make a roster move at some point next week. Robert Quinn comes off his two-game suspension for violating the league's PED policy. That means Taco Charlton or somebody else will be sent packing. Charlton, who was inactive for the second consecutive week, has been the subject of trade rumors of late. Charlton said he spoke with his agent this offseason about his future. When asked if he asked the club to trade him, he declined to say either way. Charlton only said he's produced good tape for teams and he knows his worth. We'll find out just where he stands with the rest of the league if he's dealt or released. However, an injury to defensive tackle Antwaun Woods raises some questions about the depth along the defensive line. Woods, the nose tackle, hurt his left knee with 11:15 left in the first half. The severity of the injury wasn't immediately known.
 

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It may be too soon to attribute the quarterbacks production and execution to the tutelage of Moore and possibly others but I don’t know where else you can look for another solution. You could say that maybe Kitna contributed and rightly so but the execution and production of the offensive schemes are clearly a result of a direct application of someone’s teaching and training.

There has not not been a system that has been as effective with the team since the days of the Super Bowl capable teams and personnel of those bygone days. I for one have every confidence that that as long as the personnel quality remains at this level and the play execution continues with the rate of improvement then it will have to be Moore’s legacy that should be recognized.
 

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Moore's offensive design is the biggest key although Dak's mechanics are much smoother/more refined, which is probably due to both Kitna and Moore. The added chemistry between Dak and Amari/Gallup and the return of Frederick are two other areas that have made a difference as well, compared to last season.
 

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Think about how Moore's work shines so bright a light on how bad Linehan had gotten. It's astonishing how he held this team back.
 

lostxn

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Moore's offensive design is the biggest key although Dak's mechanics are much smoother/more refined, which is probably due to both Kitna and Moore. The added chemistry between Dak and Amari/Gallup and the return of Frederick are two other areas that have made a difference as well, compared to last season.
Yeah that was my thoughts as well. Moore is getting a lot of credit, but there is more to it. The line is much better this year and giving Dak more time. With the clean pocket on many of these throws and improved mechanics we're seeing a huge improvement in his accuracy.
 

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Kitna's got to get some credit for Dak playing so confident and light on his feet. The 3 steps and throw have been beautiful to watch. Kitna said in one of his first interviews that Dak didn't lack much and that once he gets his footwork down the throws would follow. Combined with the fresh play design, #4 looks more like a $35mill QB than i figured possible. The run through the wall for him mentality of the rest of the roster is a nice bonus too. Will be interesting to see how this offensive staff handles a better defense though. It feels like we're getting sucked so hard.
 
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jsmith6919

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the return of Frederick are two other areas that have made a difference as well, compared to last season.
Frederick back calling the protections is huge imo
 
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1bigfan13

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Return of the deep ball

If you're looking for changes with the Cowboys offense, look no further than the deep pass. Prescott targeted Gallup on a long incompletion in the first half and connected with Smith on a touchdown. Prescott also had Jason Witten wide open for a long throw but threw a shorter pass. Prescott might have had a completion to Gallup, who was wide open after beating a confused Washington corner Josh Norman. Prescott threw the ball toward the sidelines but Gallup turned around too late and missed it. On the touchdown pass, Smith ran a skinny post and with no safety in the middle of the field, thanks to the motion of Amari Cooper, it allowed a one-on-one situation for the Cowboys. Prescott, with time, found Smith and the Cowboys tied the score 7-7. One of the better plays in the third quarter was Prescott finding tight end Blake Jarwin for a 22-yard pass down the field.
This has probably been my favorite part of the offense so far this season. Having to repeatedly grind out 12+ play drives is a recipe for disaster since the more plays that you run means there are more opportunities for drive killing penalties.

So it's been nice to see the return of explosive plays to the Cowboys offense.
 

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Frederick back calling the protections is huge imo
It may be a factor but the protection doesn’t explain the improvement in execution of the passing game by Prescott. He is very confident and his motions are fluid as well as the footwork for the throwing motion. As recent as last year Prescott’s throwing motion was liable to come with his weight on the back foot and his balance was way off. He has changed his throwing motion to a large improvement.
 

jsmith6919

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It may be a factor but the protection doesn’t explain the improvement in execution of the passing game by Prescott. He is very confident and his motions are fluid as well as the footwork for the throwing motion. As recent as last year Prescott’s throwing motion was liable to come with his weight on the back foot and his balance was way off. He has changed his throwing motion to a large improvement.
Dak was having to call the protection in addition to the playcall and imo he just wasn't as good at it as Frederick, having that off his plate and letting him concentrate on less definitely helps him

And yes having more time in the pocket does help the passing game...
 

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Dak was having to call the protection in addition to the playcall and imo he just wasn't as good at it as Frederick, having that off his plate and letting him concentrate on less definitely helps him

And yes having more time in the pocket does help the passing game...
Wouldn’t disagree with that but I was addressing his improvement in the passing technique due to improved footwork and balance.
 

jsmith6919

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Wouldn’t disagree with that but I was addressing his improvement in the passing technique due to improved footwork and balance.
Which has nothing to do with what I posted.....
 

jsmith6919

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That was your response to what I posted. And your response had nothing to do with what I posted.
AYFKM?

I was raised to respect my elders but you're seriously pushing it you senile fuck


I posted this
Frederick back calling the protections is huge imo
To which you responded with your strawman


It may be a factor but the protection doesn’t explain the improvement in execution of the passing game by Prescott. He is very confident and his motions are fluid as well as the footwork for the throwing motion. As recent as last year Prescott’s throwing motion was liable to come with his weight on the back foot and his balance was way off. He has changed his throwing motion to a large improvement.

With all due respect, go fuck yourself
 

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AYFKM?

I was raised to respect my elders but you're seriously pushing it you senile fuck


I posted this


To which you responded with your strawman





With all due respect, go fuck yourself
Goodnight Gracie.
 

L.T. Fan

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A
Take your meds old man
You might want to back up several posts and see who started the topic of Daks and the offense improvements to the team. Your post was just one of several responses. Your fuse is way to short.
 

jsmith6919

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You might want to back up several posts and see who started the topic of Daks and the offense improvements to the team. Your post was just one of several responses. Your fuse is way to short.
Nah you know what I'm tired of being nice, you replied to my post with something I never said or implied...go yell at a cloud you senile fuck
 

Cowboysrock55

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This has probably been my favorite part of the offense so far this season. Having to repeatedly grind out 12+ play drives is a recipe for disaster since the more plays that you run means there are more opportunities for drive killing penalties.

So it's been nice to see the return of explosive plays to the Cowboys offense.
How about not just going with giveup plays after a penalty or sack.
 
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