Sturm: Decoding Schotty Week 7 - A Decisive Show of Force

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Decoding Schotty Week 7 - A Decisive Show of Force
The Commanders defense was ripped to shreds as the Cowboys offense returns to full form.
Bob Sturm
Oct 21, 2025



Here we go. Our objectives for today:
  • How the offense owned the day.
  • Is the offense so good that the front office must act?
  • The 40-400-0 record keeping is updated.
  • Dak Prescott is playing at an unreal level.
  • Javonte Williams and OL have another big day.
  • Look at plenty of All-22 film and see what we can see.

OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION

This offense is absolutely great in 2025. There is no real way to suggest anything else. They are dominating in almost every form or fashion in both the run and pass game. They can beat you in a number of ways with a number of different pieces. They can survive major injury absences and still function and they give their team to win every game.

If you have an elite offense, history tells us you have a real chance to win big in the post-season. And given this offense sits in the Top 5 in most categories and Top 10 in everything, with a veteran QB playing at an elite level, an effective RB, and two dominating WRs, we are willing to suggest here in late October that this thing is real.
We know the defense needs help and will get to that tomorrow, but the short version is that they are short of talent and have sent their best player (by a mile) away and the result is that you have hurt 2025 badly on that side of the ball.

But, perhaps we are nearing a key decision time once again.

The Cowboys have decisions to make as the November 4th traded deadline approaches and it requires a steady hand on the helm. There is always a short term vs long term discussion on these things and it is the question of whether you should value the next three months more than the next three years or not.

If you think about it, it was the sole reason why doing the Micah Parsons trade made little or no sense, because there was nothing that suggested Parsons would actually sit out and cost himself his money in 2025 if he didn’t get his new contract. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to believe he would have played this year under his rookie agreement knowing that he could name his price next spring. Surely, he would have been grumpy, but we could argue that might inspire him even more. Either way, Dallas panicked and hurt their present to help their future. At least they hope so.

The trouble is that your offense is not locked in forever. This is a temporary window and how long it stays open is anyone’s guess. Your QB is 32 and your new WR has an expiring contract. We could argue that this moment in time represents your best chance to win big with an offense that scores 40 with routine. Right now might be the moment.

Are you actually perhaps just a Micah Parsons away? For all the talk that you didn’t win with him, could we also suggest that with Micah here, you were never fully ready? Dallas never had an elite No. 2 WR or top running game and excellent OL?

It is all speculation, of course. But, might a call for Maxx Crosby for a 1st round pick (and…) actually put this team in an interesting spot? It might be risky, but he is signed through 2029 anyway.

Anyway, I am just thinking out loud as we conceive of yet another huge offensive day.

6.6 yards per play is the 2nd best day and so is 152 yards rushing. 8.3 yards per pass is the single best day of 2025 and that makes sense as CeeDee Lamb is back in the fold.

We now have a fully fit and operational George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb together with Javonte Williams running hard and well.

The offense appears actually be ready to win big.

And there you see it again. The elusive 40-400-0 game where Dallas gets to 40 points (and really could have named their score as they casually played in the final 20 minutes), 400 yards, and 0 turnovers. Again.

You may recall we went down the list back after the Green Bay game, but I don’t want us to normalize this amazing fun fact.
40-400-0 requires scoring touchdowns routinely. To move the ball that well without a mistake is difficult to do. So how many times in Cowboys history have we seen that sort of day?
What if I told you there had only been 14 games like this ever? And then what if I told you that this was the first time the Cowboys ever had a 40-400-0 and didn’t also get a win?
Well, there are now 15 occasions in Cowboys history as Dallas has done it again.

There have been 15 of these and everything above the blue line is Dak Prescott’s games. He has now had NINE different games of 40-400-0.

Below the blue line is every other QB in Cowboys history. There is one Tony Romo game, one Troy Aikman game, one Danny White game, one Roger Staubach games and then at the very bottom is Don Meredith who did it twice.

But, this Prescott fellow has now done it NINE times.

Don’t let your Super Bowl frustration obscure what you are looking at right now. Very few players can play this position like your QB can in today’s NFL.

And yes, his last 4 games is quite a game-log, too.

13 touchdowns (14 when we include his rushing TD and Jalen Hurts called to say we must always add those in) with 0 interceptions and almost no sacks, too. It is a masterclass being taught at the moment.

What we saw on Sunday was wonderful and while they did stall here and there, it was another big day for the Klayton Adams running game. As you might remember from last week, they were humbled a bit in Carolina and had their manhood challenged. So, to see the response from the boys up front was delightful.

Tyler Booker returned to RG, so now they only await Cooper Beebe’s recovery and they will be back to their preferred five. I thought it was solid across. Not great or perfect and Javonte did plenty on his own, but overall, they are a fine group.

Here is a small supercut of the running day of Javonte behind these five and some great TE blocking from 89-Brevyn Spann Ford again. Use slow-motion to really get a feel for it.

Tyler Smith on that first play was great and Williams will not go down on first contact. He is a beast. Spann-Ford and Tyler running power on the goal-line at 0:12 is dominant. This is clearly their favorite goal-line concept now. The jump-cut by Williams at 0:50 is so good we need to come back to that one in the film study.
I think we could debate what is making the run game. Is it the OL? The concepts? Or the RB? I suppose like any great running game, they are all performing at a high enough level that they all deserve their credit.

What a bounce back from Charlotte. That is what they need in Denver.

I have said it before and I will say it again – if you are winning in 11 personnel, you are winning. This offense is not really a bully team right now, but they are amazingly good at the skill positions for the first time in a while.

Ok, let’s do some film!

FILM STUDY


I have about a dozen clips here for us to enjoy from this incredible effort over a Washington defense that must be thinking they are not good enough.

1Q - 14:50 - 2-10-DAL 34 - J.Williams left tackle to DAL 43 for 9 yards

First drive and first run. Guys, just let this one wash over you. Call is outside zone and we have George Pickens digging out the safety like he wants to send a message. We have Tyler Smith throwing 4-Frankie Luvu aside. Getting everyone blocked and then making 2-Marshon Lattimore try to deal with Javonte is just a pleasure. I am sorry, but this is sending a message that you guys are in for a long day. I hope all of our OL coaches seeing this just took a nice drag off their dart and poured a fine beverage. This is teach tape.

1Q - 14:12 - 3-1-DAL 43 - D.Prescott pass short left to C.Lamb to WAS 44 for 13 yards

Next play. 3rd down and Washington is prepared for a run, but also bring pressure. Dallas reads it into a 2x2 with man coverage across so on the left you have Ferguson open on the inside and Lamb vs Lattimore on the outside. I’d like to think that the Dallas coaching staff just decided to make a point to Marshon Lattimore all day that he is the weak link and just attacked him without mercy. There was a time when he was the industry standard, but I am positive Washington realizes that trade was a bad idea last year. He is not close to what he was.

1Q - 13:15 - 2-5-WAS 39 - D.Prescott pass incomplete deep left to G.Pickens.
PENALTY on WAS-M.Lattimore, Defensive Pass Interference, 37 yards, enforced at WAS 39 - No Play.


Two plays later, it is back to Lattimore targeting. If he is covering George Pickens, it is time to unleash the deep shots. This is another case where Pickens gets you a massive chunk play but it will go down as just a penalty. He leads the NFL in yards gained by pass interference this year in addition to running 4th in the league in receiving yards. The ball is underthrown and that usually guarantees a DPI on a guy who is beat and this is no different. 1st and Goal at the one. Touchdown to follow.

1Q - 11:35 - 1-10-DAL 1 - J.Williams up the middle tackled in End Zone for -1 yards, SAFETY

This was not a perfect game as this snap proves. I would be willing to hear what our coaches think of this play. It looks like man-blocking and Terence Steele is rightfully worried about getting to 54-Bobby Wagner. But, in doing so, 94-DaRon Payne jumps outside him and is isolated against 86-Schoonmaker. Now, look, Schoon is a guy that has not reached his ceiling, but there aren’t many worlds where you want him dealing with Payne by himself. Payne is 320 and Schoonmaker is not at barely 250. Jake Ferguson is definitely not a guy who can hold off 55-Martin, either. I am not suggesting there are many calls that I love from inside your own 1-yard line, but this is why some teams just QB sneak to the 3 on 1st down. This was one the play-caller wants back, I have to think.
To their credit, they recovered. Below is the next snap.

1Q - 7:38 - 1-10-DAL 40 - D.Prescott pass deep right to G.Pickens ran ob at WAS 36 for 24 yards.

We know that Quinn wants to be in Cover 1 most of the time to help vs the run and therefore with Lamb and Pickens, you will always fancy your chances. This is just beautiful football as Pickens is up against rookie Trey Amos from Ole Miss. What is Amos supposed to do. They don’t throw fades like this in college. And, of course, Pickens is known for his go-ball dominance and we are seeing why. Too big, too strong, too fast. He is Terrell Owens in many ways. This is easy.
Next drive, 1st play.

1Q - 4:38 - 1-10-DAL 26 - D.Prescott pass deep middle to C.Lamb for 74 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

As you can see, 1st down deep shots are wonderful because they are sitting on your pattern of running the ball on that down – especially to start a drive. So, the coverages are not quite as air-tight for a number of reasons. Here, Washington wants to run the Cover 2, but modified with a corner (Lattimore and 20-Martin) both taking the high spots. Watch CeeDee who is lined up tight on the right. The line of scrimmage is the 26 and the mailbox arm comes up at about the 37. He knows by that 37 yard line that there is nobody in the middle (MFO) and that means they got what they want. Also, we have the quick snap concept out of the huddle and Washington looks confused. I am not even sure about the route combinations as Pickens and Lamb have weird spacing, but I think once they see this bust, it turns into street ball. Dak throws it as hard and fast as he can and the two high players run into eachother. Pickens has nothing to do and Lamb is back. Again, art work.
Let’s skip ahead to the last drive of the 1st half. Washington just scored and it is 20-15 with 0:40 to go in the half. Washington will get the ball to start the 3Q, so this is a critical moment.

2Q - 0:40 - 1-10-DAL 28 - D.Prescott sacked at DAL 21 for -7 yards (sack split by V.Miller and J.Martin).

Washington gets their sack on the drive opener with a tackle stunt that crosses things up. Booker might leave too early and Martin overwhelms Hoffman with leverage that required a hold or he would get free for a sack. Nobody looks open and the sack occurs with Washington winning the snap.
Now, do you let time expire and call it a half with the lead? I think I know many Cowboys teams would have done that. This one called timeout with 0:31 left at their own 21 for a 2nd and 17. This is an interesting piece of game theory for sure.

2Q - 0:31 - 2-17-DAL 21 - D.Prescott pass deep left to G.Pickens pushed ob at WAS 35 for 44 yards

But, the reason is they want another look at George Pickens vs Marshon Lattimore. This only works if your QB is putting the ball exactly where he wants and Pickens is just too difficult to cover. This is a throw that covers 49 yards in the air and 44 yards down the field. This is elite stuff and I don’t think we can understate how easy it looks. This is why you wonder if this offense can win if you help them just a bit on defense at the deadline. Holy heck, what are we looking at here?
Next play.

2Q - 0:23 - 1-10-WAS 35 - J.Williams left guard to WAS 2 for 33 yards

This feels like the Jets game where you just want a field goal, but any run can turn into a chunk play these days. Tyler Smith is a run-blocking maniac and this is a lot of him. But, it is also a lot of Javonte Williams. Williams hardly gets touched. So good for 33 yards.

2Q - 0:15 - 1-2-WAS 2 - D.Prescott pass short middle to J.Ferguson for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Now, you are obligated to go get a touchdown from the 2. Here, Dak goes through his reads on the left and sees Pickens covered, but passes on Turpin. Ferguson is helping pass protect, but then releases and is open. Dak can’t believe this good fortune and gets off Turpin and back to his 3rd read and then fires a ball that might get stuck in Ferguson’s face-mask. Touchdown and there is much rejoicing from No. 4.
Three more snaps from the 2nd half and then we will call it.

3Q - 11:14 - 2-2-WAS 47 - J.Williams left end ran ob at WAS 30 for 17 yards

I showed you the other angle earlier, but this jump-cut is probably the best one I have ever seen from a Cowboys RB in my time covering the team. 4-Frankie Luvu is untouched and Luvu is one of my favorite LBs. To make him miss like this is Jedi stuff and I even gave you a slow-motion edit. I was in awe and I want you to be, too. We can argue the OL has been excellent this year, but this run was all by himself.

3Q - 7:48 - 1-5-WAS 5 - D.Prescott pass short right to J.Ferguson for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Quick snap tempo and play-action outside zone to the left, with rollout and bootleg TE to the right. This is Day 1 Cowboys offensive install and it still gets you an easy touchdown to Ferguson. The day has been won.

3Q - 1:42 - 1-10-WAS 44 - D.Prescott pass short left to K.Turpin ran ob at WAS 27 for 17 yards

And the last one, even though it is sort of out-of-sequence, KaVonte Turpin is back and is still an amazing speed weapon. Don’t forget about him because I promise they are going to use him on a day where they need a play because he can make a guy miss and if that guy misses, he might be gone. Here is 23-Amos again trying to get the tackle at the catch point and Turpin spins and is nearly gone right there. I show you this just to remind you that this is a luxury item, but keep in mind that this is available for when they need a moment in an upcoming situation.

So, there you have it. Just an incredible show of might where they could have named their score. Feel free to wonder about Washington’s defense after this one. Dallas made a meal out of them and barely needed to work up a sweat.

They are really good.
 
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