The Cowboys need a passing game that makes blitzing expensive

Brian Schottenheimer did not spend Monday searching for a single button to press. In his assessment of Dallas’ 23-13 loss at Green Bay, the Cowboys coach pointed instead to a stack of connected problems: poor execution against pressure, catch-up football that tilted the play mix, and a need to move George Pickens around the formation and involve him earlier.

That is a more useful diagnosis than treating Dak Prescott’s 54 pass attempts as the crime scene. The volume was conspicuous, but it was also partly a scoreboard consequence. Dallas trailed badly enough that the offense had to chase the game, and the chase made the Cowboys easier to pressure and less capable of establishing balance.

Reducing throws without improving the answers underneath would be cosmetic coaching.

Schottenheimer’s explanation of the run-pass checks matters here. Some plays that began with a run option became passes after Dallas assessed Green Bay’s defensive front. That does not mean every check was wrong, and it does not identify a particular player’s decision.

It does mean the Cowboys were not simply calling 54 predetermined dropbacks while ignoring the run game. Their pre-snap answers still had to produce positive football, and too many of them left Dallas working from behind.

The arithmetic from Sunday is harsh. Dallas managed 48 rushing yards, and after Javonte Williams scored with 9:19 left in the third quarter, the Cowboys had just one more rushing attempt. The score required urgency, but urgency also magnified the original problem: once the Packers could expect Dallas to throw, every blitz carried more leverage.

A team already struggling to execute against pressure then had fewer opportunities to make the defense defend the full menu.

That is why the next test should be the quality of Dallas’ blitz answers. A useful response might be a check that produces a clean run look, a protection adjustment that keeps the quarterback from absorbing immediate pressure, or a quick throw that reaches a receiver in position to turn a modest gain into a sustainable drive.

Those are functional answers. “Throw less” is merely a box-score preference.

Pickens can be part of that solution, but Schottenheimer’s proposed adjustment needs to be described accurately. The coach said Dallas should move the receiver among positions and get him involved early because defenses are accounting for him. The announcement supports greater variation in alignment; it does not promise a certain number of targets, dictate specific routes or prove that the tactic will beat a blitz.

Still, the logic is sound. If a defense can identify where a major receiving threat will line up, it can make its pressure plan more comfortable. Moving Pickens can complicate that pre-snap picture and create more than one possible answer.

It also gives Dallas a way to involve him before a game becomes a frantic search for chunk plays. The limitation is obvious: alignment only helps if the protection, timing and decision-making behind it function. A receiver’s location cannot repair every breakdown in the operation.

The recent output gives the coaching staff little room for vague optimism. Dallas has scored 29 points across its last two games and fell to 2-4 with the Green Bay defeat. Schottenheimer still expressed confidence in the offense, pointing to four strong games and the work from the previous season, while acknowledging that the past two performances were inadequate.

That balance is reasonable. Two poor games do not prove the system is broken, but they do make “execution” an insufficient endpoint unless the staff identifies what must execute differently.

The Cowboys therefore need to show their corrections in sequence. Against an aggressive opponent, can a pressure look produce a favorable check rather than a stalled possession? Can Pickens’ varied alignment affect how the defense distributes attention? Can Dallas stay committed to whatever answer is working long enough to avoid another desperate late-game pass avalanche?

Those questions reach beyond Prescott’s final attempt total. The quarterback may still throw often if the game demands it. The healthier sign would be that Dallas has made opponents pay for loading up on pressure before the score forces every possession into catch-up mode. That is the standard for the entire passing operation—and the only one that will make the number of throws worth debating.

Sources

Dallas Cowboys: team reporting

Dallas Cowboys: team reporting

Dallas Cowboys: team reporting