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Decoding Schotty Week13- A Clinical QB Performance
A magnificent QB day from Prescott was enough to win a memorable duel with Mahomes.
Bob Sturm
Dec 01, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
This team is led by its offense which is by almost every measure and elite group. 1st in yardage, first in passing yardage, first in First Downs, and second in points scored. And the elite offense is being led by the performance of its elite QB and therefore, its elite wide receivers.
In other words, Dak Prescott is playing some of his best football of his career and Thanksgiving was a wonderful example of what he currently is.
I don’t know if you have read the book, “Outliers,” by Malcolm Gladwell, but I think about it quite a bit over the years. That was where I read his premise about the 10,000-hour rule and how it offers “the idea that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to master any skill” and I always bring it back to a player becoming the smartest version of himself. Now, I assume Prescott is well over 10,000 hours of training in his craft, but allow that fictional number to make this simple point – Prescott has long since completed his training and now has achieved his finest form.
As it pertains to QB, it furthers the premise that the most important characteristic of a QB is intelligence and the only way to fully achieve a high football IQ is by doing. I believe Dak has always been above average in this category, but I think in 2025, we are seeing his most intelligent season of QB play and these last two games have been off the charts in terms of knowing what to do in nearly every situation.
Now, you still have to make the throws and you also need the rare physical skills to be able to do all that is required – trust me when I say that, the most intelligent football observer has no chance to play NFL QB because they cannot take the hits or make the throws or move inside a car accident to find an open man – but, when someone gets to a point where they know all the answers to the tests because they have studied for 10,000 hours and learned at every step along the way, then we can see the best version of them. At least we can if their body can survive those years and years of punishing lessons. Dak Prescott’s predecessor, Tony Romo, was not lucky enough to still have a body left to give at this same point of his high quality career. But, thankfully, Prescott looks like he is right in his physical prime and now we are seeing an even better version of QB.
Against Kansas City, he was going to deal with a team that was equipped to beat him in a game Dallas could not lose. I thought the game preview summary paragraph is worth revisiting:
In fact, it must have been pretty annoying for the Chiefs to come so close to him so many times, only for him to keep moving the team down the field and carving them up for 320 yards and a day that was able to cancel out a fantastic performance from Patrick Mahomes.
In other words, the Cowboys got in a big time shootout against the best of the best and lived to tell about it.
Just look at those numbers above. Obviously, the interception is significant and we are not trying to say it’s not. But, everything else was so good that he hit 10-yards-per attempt against the pressure and was 16% above expectation in those spots. Without the pick, the Passer Rating would have been 109, but even with an 86.4, I thought that was the story of the game. Prescott beat the blitz over and over again.
Here is a reel of the 19 QB Pressures the Chiefs got. Note how many times he is getting hit while throwing and how many times he is finding a solution in a split second. These are in chronological order.
I think it is worth noting that the interception was due to being hit as the ball is coming out, but more importantly, it did not change the Cowboys plan. On the very next throw, he hits CeeDee Lamb for a touchdown. And then, for the rest of the game, he gets the ball out too fast and repeatedly finds profits and solutions. There are almost no “throw aways” to save a sack. His processor was faster than the Chiefs were and it saved the day. Some of the best QBs in our league have failed this Spagnuolo test, but on Thanksgiving, I thought Dak played nearly the best game I have ever seen him play from a QB-IQ standpoint. This was, in total, something you would expect from Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees. Those QBs were often too wise to succumb to these games that destroy young hotshots.
The Cowboys had decent protection, but it allowed 19 pressures and many of them were due to busts in protection because Kansas City was determined to fight the Dallas play-action game by going right to Prescott. They also didn’t leave Cowboys receivers running free. The number of tight throws on tape are many. The coverage was sound. But, Dallas gets credit because they had solutions baked in and their receivers played strong and fought for the ball.
Yet, I keep coming back to this being a top Prescott performance. That touchdown and 2-point conversion on back to back snaps in the 4th Quarter is what it is all about. He is playing at a very high level.
The only real complaint on Thursday would be that the running game success rate was very low. Overall, it was 26 for 137 which is 5.3 yards per carry, but that is definitely smoothed over by a 43-yard TD from Malik Davis and a 25-yard Turpin run. Otherwise, we are looking at 24 carries for 69 yards which comes in at 2.9 per. Again, success rate is about consistent gains and the running game did not offer much in terms of consistent positive gains. Of course, the Davis TD did happen and that probably had as much to do with this win as any single play in the game.
Field Position was a major obstacle to overcome.
We don’t talk field position much because it doesn’t really get the people going, but this was a huge Parcells discussion over and over again.
He would tell us that special teams are vital because every yard matters. And if you are starting your possessions near midfield and the other team is inside their own 20, you will win almost every time.
Well, this game did not go according to that plan. Kansas City started its possessions at its own 36 yard line on average and Dallas was at its own 18. That is an enormous uphill battle all day. 6 different possessions started at or inside the 16 yard line! All day the Cowboys had a much longer field.
I need to run the numbers, but I am nearly certain that the win percentage of teams that are giving up over 10 yards of field position over an entire game have seldom won. The Cowboys gave up 18 yards per possession and lived to tell about it – and had zero takeaways, too.
This game seems to be an extremely rare outcome.
CeeDee Lamb is still incredible
The Lamb discourse last week was silly and we have already written as much. But the most predictable thing ever was that he was going to have a huge day on Thursday – which he did.
It was a big day against Trent McDuffie and we are seeing the Pickens/Lamb combo really cause stress for opponents. The ability to believe that either of them can get off press, win vertically, but also win on slants and tight throws on third down make this team a problem.
I loved how he was ready to battle so hard on Thursday and he shook off a rough Eagles game and immediately resumed business with his 25th 100-yard game as a Cowboy and is now one game behind second place according to the PR notes:
The thing I wanted to show you above was that left-flat. I thought the Cowboys continously attacked the left flat against the blitz. Why? Because pressure is coming from inside and the Chiefs often fall back into Quarters. Where do we attack quarters? Exactly. Hit the flats quickly and there should be profits available and space to run and Lamb was able to get some touches that way, not just RBs or TEs. Dallas exploited that continously. Overall a very smart game-plan all day.
The Statbutler personnel chart looks pretty easy to decipher this week. Dallas is now comfortable in its roles and Malik Davis is now officially RB2. The Jaydon Blue/Phil Mafah redshirt years appear to be fully on.
OK, let’s grind some film. We have a lot to look at here.
FILM STUDY
1Q - 13:51 - 3-4-DAL 33 - D.Prescott pass deep left intended for G.Pickens INTERCEPTED by J.Watson [J.Hicks] at KC 49. J.Watson to DAL 37 for 14 yards (J.Ferguson).
We are only one minute into this game and here is the first exotic look from Kansas City. It is a pressure where 95-Jones drops out to take the flat. Overload from Dak’s right is coming and they don’t have enough to block it up. Dak gets hit by 21-Hicks and I am sure that takes power off the throw and it sort of becomes a duck interception. I am sure Prescott is asking himself why he didn’t just take Turpin in the flat for the 1st down. You need 4, so get out of trouble by hitting the flat against Quarters. He will learn from this, but this mistake definitely started this one off on the wrong foot.
1Q - 6:55 - 3-10-KC 15 - D.Prescott pass short right to C.Lamb for 15 yards, TOUCHDOWN [G.Karlaftis].
Here is a 3rd and 10 and again, we have Quarters-coverage. Lamb vs McDuffie on the outside is elite vs elite matchup and the Lamb stutter-and-go is a beautiful route and a top notch throw for a touchdown. Not much here to examine, except George Karlaftis pushing 71-Nate Thomas right back into Dak lets us see where Nate is going to need some help. Great throw and we are at 7-7.
2Q - 14:24 - 1-10-DAL 27 - D.Prescott pass short left to K.Turpin ran ob at DAL 46 for 19 yards (M.Edwards).
Here is a great example of how design is everything. You see the pressure. You have CeeDee running an inside slant to hold the flat defender and then you get the ball to Turpin as quick as you can. He turns on the afterburners and it is a chunk play. Watch Lamb’s hands go up and you quickly see that they know the solutions here. The Chiefs only have 11 defenders so there is always a weak spot and a downside to blitzing (although this one is not even a blitz - they are just stretched). The Cowboys know the soft spots.
2Q - 12:29 - 4-4-KC 48 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson to KC 38 for 10 yards (N.Bolton; M.Edwards).
The willingness to go for it on 4th down here is something we covered on Friday and I support Schottenheimer understanding the risk situation properly and you need to assume 4th and 4 from the KC side of the field is a “go”. Again, solutions are baked in. The Chiefs love the double-mug look where their two LBs are lined up in the A-Gaps. But, if you are in the A-Gap at the snap, you can’t get to Ferguson on an out fast enough - after he runs his motion to identify man vs zone. Dak sees this and it is 4th down, so it better be quick. They pull it off nicely and move the chains. No problems.
2Q - 5:23 - 3-7-DAL 18 - D.Prescott pass short right to J.Ferguson to DAL 29 for 11 yards (N.Bolton).
Dallas was great on 3rd downs all day and this is another example of Dak making a quick, decisive, and correct decision. But, he has to wait long enough for the defenders to get to him before throwing the pass to Ferguson. See Dak moving to buy the time and then put the ball where 87 has a chance to extend the drive? This is subtle, but effective work. Ferguson does a nice job in this game and deserves credit for coming on well as the season progresses.
2Q - 4:22 - 3-3-DAL 36 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens pushed ob at DAL 48 for 12 yards (J.Watson) [C.Conner]. Penalty on KC-J.Watson, Defensive Pass Interference, declined.
Same drive with another third down. Look at this beauty. You want to be a NFL QB? Here is a 6-man blitz and Dak has to take a hit and make a long throw on the money. Pickens and Jaylen Watson are fighting here and Watson will take the DPI, but this is a real struggle. But, there is no defense for this throw and catch. Great execution on another 3rd down.
2Q - 3:17 - 2-1-KC 43 - M.Davis up the middle for 43 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This is incredible. This is 21 personnel and we have a 2-skill counter which means we are running counter with a FB and a TE and no OL are involved in that. The TE is 89-Spann Ford and then the FB is the lead up for Malik Davis to follow. My guy Ted Nguyen properly points out that this is a 49ers favorite with Shanahan and the entire Cowboys offense is definitely an inspiration to Klayton Adams and Schottenheimer. Well, here, Davis just needs a sliver and he is gone. Again, I don’t know the full story on how Davis just took Jaydon Blue’s work, but to give you an example of Malik’s last 90 days, here are his transactions:
And now, he scores a masterful touchdown on Thanksgiving Day after having another chunk run on Sunday. What a story in the same week he turned 27. He has stuck with it and it has paid off.
OK, to the second half (I told you I had a lot to look at):
3Q - 6:24 - 1-10-DAL 15 - K.Turpin right end pushed ob at DAL 40 for 25 yards (J.Hicks).
Again, there isn’t a ton to look at here other than the Cowboys have been stubborn in their insistence that Kavonte Turpin needs touches and we need to find spots for him. He is so fast and like Malik Davis, all he needed is a crease and he can be off to the races. This offense has been steadfast in getting carries to those with the juice and I tip my cap to Schottenheimer for not getting timid because of a fumble on Sunday from Turpin and even an injury to Lamb when he was lined up as a RB. There have been chances to protect yourself from criticism and he has been strong and stubborn.
4Q - 13:21 - 3-8-KC 45 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens to KC 6 for 39 yards (T.McDuffie).
One great thing about the 3rd down offense is you do sometimes have an obvious solution which is an opponent thinking they can cover man-up against Lamb and Pickens. They are sending a 7-man blitz and if Dak can get the ball off, this can be a touchdown. 4v4 on the back end. Get the ball to Pickens vs Watson and if he can get to the 37, they move the chains. But, he might go all the way. He was so close to paydirt. Extraordinary.
4Q - 11:21 - 3-3-KC 3 - D.Prescott pass short right to J.Williams for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Here we go. Down 21-20, 3rd and Goal from the 3. I assume they kick if they don’t get it from here, but this is another wonderful snap from Prescott. The Pickens/Lamb combo to the left is covered and now Dak has to go sandlot to make this work. When I talk about him knowing the answers to the tests, this is it. Dak knows how to solve this issue and it is buying time laterally to draw all of the attention and then dink the ball to Javonte for a walk-in. This is so good, because the protection is holding on for dear life, but they can’t extend things much longer. The routes are not open, the QB has to improvise. 26-21.
So, you go for two.
4Q - 2 Pt - TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. D.Prescott pass to G.Pickens is complete. ATTEMPT SUCCEEDS.
This play is dead. He has nothing front side. He spins back to the backside and throws a pass to the pylon with nothing but upper-body. Guys, Dak Prescott’s last two snaps are proof that he is at the top of his game. There is no margin and he is dueling with Mahomes in front of 30-million and not blinking. I hope we are all aware of what is happening here.
4Q - 9:26 - 1-10-DAL 10 - D.Prescott pass deep right to C.Lamb to KC 39 for 51 yards (C.Conner).
I wrote about this on Friday:
3rd and 2 and here Dak has Tolbert shallow and Flournoy deeper. He chooses the more difficult throw that leads us to believe he can now leap tall buildings in a single bound. He is in the zone, kids. Look at this throw. On time, on target, dart for a big gainer. This is the best of Dak Prescott.
4Q - 6:11 - 3-8-KC 12 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to KC 9 for 3 yards (T.McDuffie). FUMBLES (T.McDuffie), recovered by DAL-K.Turpin at KC 8.
3rd and 8 and the Cowboys want to give Pickens a chance to bring this home. Instead, he fumbles as Trent McDuffie gets the ball out. But, just as the Chiefs were about to save their day and maybe their season, here comes Turpin in to fall on the ball and to be the hero. Last week, Alijah Clark and this week Kavonte Turpin showing us that high effort will always pay off. 31-21.
A strong 4-minute drill killshot.
Now, the art of the 4-minute offense. You are up 31-28 with 3:27 to go. You cannot give the ball back to Patrick Mahomes. We know this. But, can you get two first downs when you need them both? Trust your QB and your play-makers to end the game and Mahomes can only watch from his spot on the sideline.
4Q - 3:10 - 2-9-DAL 39 - D.Prescott pass short right to C.Lamb ran ob at 50 for 11 yards (T.McDuffie). PENALTY on KC-T.McDuffie, Defensive Pass Interference, 13 yards, enforced at DAL 39 - No Play.
The above play doesn’t actually exist as Dallas accepted the pass interference, but it still shows Lamb man-up against McDuffie and how good and strong Lamb is at the catch point. It also shows Dak delivering. I am not sure why they accepted the penalty over the catch (usually, teams opt for the stats), but I am sure I am missing something. Regardless, it was another case of “they can’t stop our go-to move.”
4Q - 2:13 - 3-2-KC 40 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to KC 27 for 13 yards (J.Watson).
Here is the kill-shot. 3rd and 2 at the 40 might have set up a really interesting 4th and 2 decision, but “I guess we will never know”, said Corey Seager. Slant to Pickens appears to be a cheatcode and Jaylen Watson had a rough day.
Dallas converted and took three knees and beat both halves of Super Bowl 59 in 5 days time. I believe their QB has never played better and it helps to have the best weapons of his career now.
Tomorrow, we look at the defense!
A magnificent QB day from Prescott was enough to win a memorable duel with Mahomes.
Bob Sturm
Dec 01, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
- Overall Offensive Evaluation
- Dak Prescott vs Pressures and the Blitz
- Field Position was a major obstacle to overcome.
- CeeDee Lamb is still incredible - shocking!
- Look at plenty of All-22 film and see what we can see.
- A strong 4-minute drill killshot.
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
This team is led by its offense which is by almost every measure and elite group. 1st in yardage, first in passing yardage, first in First Downs, and second in points scored. And the elite offense is being led by the performance of its elite QB and therefore, its elite wide receivers.
In other words, Dak Prescott is playing some of his best football of his career and Thanksgiving was a wonderful example of what he currently is.
I don’t know if you have read the book, “Outliers,” by Malcolm Gladwell, but I think about it quite a bit over the years. That was where I read his premise about the 10,000-hour rule and how it offers “the idea that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to master any skill” and I always bring it back to a player becoming the smartest version of himself. Now, I assume Prescott is well over 10,000 hours of training in his craft, but allow that fictional number to make this simple point – Prescott has long since completed his training and now has achieved his finest form.
As it pertains to QB, it furthers the premise that the most important characteristic of a QB is intelligence and the only way to fully achieve a high football IQ is by doing. I believe Dak has always been above average in this category, but I think in 2025, we are seeing his most intelligent season of QB play and these last two games have been off the charts in terms of knowing what to do in nearly every situation.
Now, you still have to make the throws and you also need the rare physical skills to be able to do all that is required – trust me when I say that, the most intelligent football observer has no chance to play NFL QB because they cannot take the hits or make the throws or move inside a car accident to find an open man – but, when someone gets to a point where they know all the answers to the tests because they have studied for 10,000 hours and learned at every step along the way, then we can see the best version of them. At least we can if their body can survive those years and years of punishing lessons. Dak Prescott’s predecessor, Tony Romo, was not lucky enough to still have a body left to give at this same point of his high quality career. But, thankfully, Prescott looks like he is right in his physical prime and now we are seeing an even better version of QB.
Against Kansas City, he was going to deal with a team that was equipped to beat him in a game Dallas could not lose. I thought the game preview summary paragraph is worth revisiting:
Nineteen blitzes were brought by the Chiefs and they did not waver. Nineteen QB Pressures were registered. They were rewarded with an interception on the very first possession of the game and things didn’t look great at that point. But, in the end, zero sacks were taken by Prescott. He was pretty close to perfect for the rest of the day.
In fact, it must have been pretty annoying for the Chiefs to come so close to him so many times, only for him to keep moving the team down the field and carving them up for 320 yards and a day that was able to cancel out a fantastic performance from Patrick Mahomes.
In other words, the Cowboys got in a big time shootout against the best of the best and lived to tell about it.
Just look at those numbers above. Obviously, the interception is significant and we are not trying to say it’s not. But, everything else was so good that he hit 10-yards-per attempt against the pressure and was 16% above expectation in those spots. Without the pick, the Passer Rating would have been 109, but even with an 86.4, I thought that was the story of the game. Prescott beat the blitz over and over again.
Here is a reel of the 19 QB Pressures the Chiefs got. Note how many times he is getting hit while throwing and how many times he is finding a solution in a split second. These are in chronological order.
I think it is worth noting that the interception was due to being hit as the ball is coming out, but more importantly, it did not change the Cowboys plan. On the very next throw, he hits CeeDee Lamb for a touchdown. And then, for the rest of the game, he gets the ball out too fast and repeatedly finds profits and solutions. There are almost no “throw aways” to save a sack. His processor was faster than the Chiefs were and it saved the day. Some of the best QBs in our league have failed this Spagnuolo test, but on Thanksgiving, I thought Dak played nearly the best game I have ever seen him play from a QB-IQ standpoint. This was, in total, something you would expect from Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees. Those QBs were often too wise to succumb to these games that destroy young hotshots.
The Cowboys had decent protection, but it allowed 19 pressures and many of them were due to busts in protection because Kansas City was determined to fight the Dallas play-action game by going right to Prescott. They also didn’t leave Cowboys receivers running free. The number of tight throws on tape are many. The coverage was sound. But, Dallas gets credit because they had solutions baked in and their receivers played strong and fought for the ball.
Yet, I keep coming back to this being a top Prescott performance. That touchdown and 2-point conversion on back to back snaps in the 4th Quarter is what it is all about. He is playing at a very high level.
The only real complaint on Thursday would be that the running game success rate was very low. Overall, it was 26 for 137 which is 5.3 yards per carry, but that is definitely smoothed over by a 43-yard TD from Malik Davis and a 25-yard Turpin run. Otherwise, we are looking at 24 carries for 69 yards which comes in at 2.9 per. Again, success rate is about consistent gains and the running game did not offer much in terms of consistent positive gains. Of course, the Davis TD did happen and that probably had as much to do with this win as any single play in the game.
Field Position was a major obstacle to overcome.
We don’t talk field position much because it doesn’t really get the people going, but this was a huge Parcells discussion over and over again.
He would tell us that special teams are vital because every yard matters. And if you are starting your possessions near midfield and the other team is inside their own 20, you will win almost every time.
Well, this game did not go according to that plan. Kansas City started its possessions at its own 36 yard line on average and Dallas was at its own 18. That is an enormous uphill battle all day. 6 different possessions started at or inside the 16 yard line! All day the Cowboys had a much longer field.
I need to run the numbers, but I am nearly certain that the win percentage of teams that are giving up over 10 yards of field position over an entire game have seldom won. The Cowboys gave up 18 yards per possession and lived to tell about it – and had zero takeaways, too.
This game seems to be an extremely rare outcome.
CeeDee Lamb is still incredible
The Lamb discourse last week was silly and we have already written as much. But the most predictable thing ever was that he was going to have a huge day on Thursday – which he did.
It was a big day against Trent McDuffie and we are seeing the Pickens/Lamb combo really cause stress for opponents. The ability to believe that either of them can get off press, win vertically, but also win on slants and tight throws on third down make this team a problem.
I loved how he was ready to battle so hard on Thursday and he shook off a rough Eagles game and immediately resumed business with his 25th 100-yard game as a Cowboy and is now one game behind second place according to the PR notes:
Irvin’s 47 is pretty nuts! Lamb will have to hurry to get there.
The thing I wanted to show you above was that left-flat. I thought the Cowboys continously attacked the left flat against the blitz. Why? Because pressure is coming from inside and the Chiefs often fall back into Quarters. Where do we attack quarters? Exactly. Hit the flats quickly and there should be profits available and space to run and Lamb was able to get some touches that way, not just RBs or TEs. Dallas exploited that continously. Overall a very smart game-plan all day.
The Statbutler personnel chart looks pretty easy to decipher this week. Dallas is now comfortable in its roles and Malik Davis is now officially RB2. The Jaydon Blue/Phil Mafah redshirt years appear to be fully on.
OK, let’s grind some film. We have a lot to look at here.
FILM STUDY
1Q - 13:51 - 3-4-DAL 33 - D.Prescott pass deep left intended for G.Pickens INTERCEPTED by J.Watson [J.Hicks] at KC 49. J.Watson to DAL 37 for 14 yards (J.Ferguson).
We are only one minute into this game and here is the first exotic look from Kansas City. It is a pressure where 95-Jones drops out to take the flat. Overload from Dak’s right is coming and they don’t have enough to block it up. Dak gets hit by 21-Hicks and I am sure that takes power off the throw and it sort of becomes a duck interception. I am sure Prescott is asking himself why he didn’t just take Turpin in the flat for the 1st down. You need 4, so get out of trouble by hitting the flat against Quarters. He will learn from this, but this mistake definitely started this one off on the wrong foot.
1Q - 6:55 - 3-10-KC 15 - D.Prescott pass short right to C.Lamb for 15 yards, TOUCHDOWN [G.Karlaftis].
Here is a 3rd and 10 and again, we have Quarters-coverage. Lamb vs McDuffie on the outside is elite vs elite matchup and the Lamb stutter-and-go is a beautiful route and a top notch throw for a touchdown. Not much here to examine, except George Karlaftis pushing 71-Nate Thomas right back into Dak lets us see where Nate is going to need some help. Great throw and we are at 7-7.
2Q - 14:24 - 1-10-DAL 27 - D.Prescott pass short left to K.Turpin ran ob at DAL 46 for 19 yards (M.Edwards).
Here is a great example of how design is everything. You see the pressure. You have CeeDee running an inside slant to hold the flat defender and then you get the ball to Turpin as quick as you can. He turns on the afterburners and it is a chunk play. Watch Lamb’s hands go up and you quickly see that they know the solutions here. The Chiefs only have 11 defenders so there is always a weak spot and a downside to blitzing (although this one is not even a blitz - they are just stretched). The Cowboys know the soft spots.
2Q - 12:29 - 4-4-KC 48 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson to KC 38 for 10 yards (N.Bolton; M.Edwards).
The willingness to go for it on 4th down here is something we covered on Friday and I support Schottenheimer understanding the risk situation properly and you need to assume 4th and 4 from the KC side of the field is a “go”. Again, solutions are baked in. The Chiefs love the double-mug look where their two LBs are lined up in the A-Gaps. But, if you are in the A-Gap at the snap, you can’t get to Ferguson on an out fast enough - after he runs his motion to identify man vs zone. Dak sees this and it is 4th down, so it better be quick. They pull it off nicely and move the chains. No problems.
2Q - 5:23 - 3-7-DAL 18 - D.Prescott pass short right to J.Ferguson to DAL 29 for 11 yards (N.Bolton).
Dallas was great on 3rd downs all day and this is another example of Dak making a quick, decisive, and correct decision. But, he has to wait long enough for the defenders to get to him before throwing the pass to Ferguson. See Dak moving to buy the time and then put the ball where 87 has a chance to extend the drive? This is subtle, but effective work. Ferguson does a nice job in this game and deserves credit for coming on well as the season progresses.
2Q - 4:22 - 3-3-DAL 36 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens pushed ob at DAL 48 for 12 yards (J.Watson) [C.Conner]. Penalty on KC-J.Watson, Defensive Pass Interference, declined.
Same drive with another third down. Look at this beauty. You want to be a NFL QB? Here is a 6-man blitz and Dak has to take a hit and make a long throw on the money. Pickens and Jaylen Watson are fighting here and Watson will take the DPI, but this is a real struggle. But, there is no defense for this throw and catch. Great execution on another 3rd down.
2Q - 3:17 - 2-1-KC 43 - M.Davis up the middle for 43 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This is incredible. This is 21 personnel and we have a 2-skill counter which means we are running counter with a FB and a TE and no OL are involved in that. The TE is 89-Spann Ford and then the FB is the lead up for Malik Davis to follow. My guy Ted Nguyen properly points out that this is a 49ers favorite with Shanahan and the entire Cowboys offense is definitely an inspiration to Klayton Adams and Schottenheimer. Well, here, Davis just needs a sliver and he is gone. Again, I don’t know the full story on how Davis just took Jaydon Blue’s work, but to give you an example of Malik’s last 90 days, here are his transactions:
And now, he scores a masterful touchdown on Thanksgiving Day after having another chunk run on Sunday. What a story in the same week he turned 27. He has stuck with it and it has paid off.
OK, to the second half (I told you I had a lot to look at):
3Q - 6:24 - 1-10-DAL 15 - K.Turpin right end pushed ob at DAL 40 for 25 yards (J.Hicks).
Again, there isn’t a ton to look at here other than the Cowboys have been stubborn in their insistence that Kavonte Turpin needs touches and we need to find spots for him. He is so fast and like Malik Davis, all he needed is a crease and he can be off to the races. This offense has been steadfast in getting carries to those with the juice and I tip my cap to Schottenheimer for not getting timid because of a fumble on Sunday from Turpin and even an injury to Lamb when he was lined up as a RB. There have been chances to protect yourself from criticism and he has been strong and stubborn.
4Q - 13:21 - 3-8-KC 45 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens to KC 6 for 39 yards (T.McDuffie).
One great thing about the 3rd down offense is you do sometimes have an obvious solution which is an opponent thinking they can cover man-up against Lamb and Pickens. They are sending a 7-man blitz and if Dak can get the ball off, this can be a touchdown. 4v4 on the back end. Get the ball to Pickens vs Watson and if he can get to the 37, they move the chains. But, he might go all the way. He was so close to paydirt. Extraordinary.
4Q - 11:21 - 3-3-KC 3 - D.Prescott pass short right to J.Williams for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Here we go. Down 21-20, 3rd and Goal from the 3. I assume they kick if they don’t get it from here, but this is another wonderful snap from Prescott. The Pickens/Lamb combo to the left is covered and now Dak has to go sandlot to make this work. When I talk about him knowing the answers to the tests, this is it. Dak knows how to solve this issue and it is buying time laterally to draw all of the attention and then dink the ball to Javonte for a walk-in. This is so good, because the protection is holding on for dear life, but they can’t extend things much longer. The routes are not open, the QB has to improvise. 26-21.
So, you go for two.
4Q - 2 Pt - TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. D.Prescott pass to G.Pickens is complete. ATTEMPT SUCCEEDS.
This play is dead. He has nothing front side. He spins back to the backside and throws a pass to the pylon with nothing but upper-body. Guys, Dak Prescott’s last two snaps are proof that he is at the top of his game. There is no margin and he is dueling with Mahomes in front of 30-million and not blinking. I hope we are all aware of what is happening here.
4Q - 9:26 - 1-10-DAL 10 - D.Prescott pass deep right to C.Lamb to KC 39 for 51 yards (C.Conner).
I wrote about this on Friday:
4Q - 7:28 - 3-2-KC 31 - D.Prescott pass deep right to R.Flournoy pushed ob at KC 14 for 17 yards
3rd and 2 and here Dak has Tolbert shallow and Flournoy deeper. He chooses the more difficult throw that leads us to believe he can now leap tall buildings in a single bound. He is in the zone, kids. Look at this throw. On time, on target, dart for a big gainer. This is the best of Dak Prescott.
4Q - 6:11 - 3-8-KC 12 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to KC 9 for 3 yards (T.McDuffie). FUMBLES (T.McDuffie), recovered by DAL-K.Turpin at KC 8.
3rd and 8 and the Cowboys want to give Pickens a chance to bring this home. Instead, he fumbles as Trent McDuffie gets the ball out. But, just as the Chiefs were about to save their day and maybe their season, here comes Turpin in to fall on the ball and to be the hero. Last week, Alijah Clark and this week Kavonte Turpin showing us that high effort will always pay off. 31-21.
A strong 4-minute drill killshot.
Now, the art of the 4-minute offense. You are up 31-28 with 3:27 to go. You cannot give the ball back to Patrick Mahomes. We know this. But, can you get two first downs when you need them both? Trust your QB and your play-makers to end the game and Mahomes can only watch from his spot on the sideline.
4Q - 3:10 - 2-9-DAL 39 - D.Prescott pass short right to C.Lamb ran ob at 50 for 11 yards (T.McDuffie). PENALTY on KC-T.McDuffie, Defensive Pass Interference, 13 yards, enforced at DAL 39 - No Play.
The above play doesn’t actually exist as Dallas accepted the pass interference, but it still shows Lamb man-up against McDuffie and how good and strong Lamb is at the catch point. It also shows Dak delivering. I am not sure why they accepted the penalty over the catch (usually, teams opt for the stats), but I am sure I am missing something. Regardless, it was another case of “they can’t stop our go-to move.”
4Q - 2:13 - 3-2-KC 40 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to KC 27 for 13 yards (J.Watson).
Here is the kill-shot. 3rd and 2 at the 40 might have set up a really interesting 4th and 2 decision, but “I guess we will never know”, said Corey Seager. Slant to Pickens appears to be a cheatcode and Jaylen Watson had a rough day.
Dallas converted and took three knees and beat both halves of Super Bowl 59 in 5 days time. I believe their QB has never played better and it helps to have the best weapons of his career now.
Tomorrow, we look at the defense!
