ARLINGTON — As a veteran of Cowboys postgame locker room scenes, I can tell you it’s rare to hear much, if anything, from the team’s coordinators. They generally slide out the door while Jerry Jones is holding court in front of dozens of reporters.
But in the immediate glow of Sunday’s 35-17 win over the New York Giants, a team rep announced Kellen Moore would be taking questions. The man of the hour had a sheepish grin on his youthful face, because he knew his offense had just stoked the fires of Cowboys fans across the globe. He was asked how it felt to have Jones so excited about his play-calling debut.
“Well, he got my name right,” Moore said, laughing. “He used to call me Keelan. It must mean we’re doing something right.”
That’s putting it mildly. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions to put away an overmatched Giants team. Moore admitted to me the Cowboys had a plan to go after Giants rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker, who had a nightmarish debut. The Cowboys have a lot of respect for Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins, so they stayed away from him much of the first half. Cowboys receivers had 172 yards after the catch Sunday, according to ESPN Stats and Info. I would guess half of that came against veteran cornerback Antonio Hamilton, who was dreadful for the Giants.
I joked with Moore that fans would now expect 405 yards passing and a perfect passer rating (158.3) on a weekly basis. He responded with the nervous laugh of a man who realizes he just sent everyone’s expectations soaring. We’re told the Cowboys ran the same plays they used during the Scott Linehan era, but Lord knows the results were different. According to my intrepid podcasting partner Ed Werder, the Cowboys came into Sunday’s game 0-6 when Zeke Elliott was held to 70 yards rushing or fewer. Make that 1-6 after Elliott finished with 13 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. It was the perfect way to integrate a man who spent training camp in Cabo.
The Giants had a brief foothold in the game after trimming the Cowboys’ lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter. Moore responded by calling a play that had been on his “openers” script to start the game. It took him 45 plays to get to it, but Amari Cooper stutter-stepped and then raced past Antoine Bethea before hauling in a 45-yard pass. The Cowboys scored two plays later on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb, who bounced off tacklers throughout the game. Cobb looks like a capable replacement for the oft-disgruntled Cole Beasley.
My colleague Gil LeBreton asked Jerry if he considered signing Antonio Brown when he suddenly hit the open market Saturday, but Jones said he didn’t because of what we witnessed Sunday. Michael Gallup and Cooper both had 100-yard days, and four different players caught touchdowns. This team may be built around Elliott, but on Sunday the Cowboys showed off their versatility.
Prescott was 25 of 32 for 405 yards and four touchdowns. After a short touchdown pass to Witten, the quarterback could be seen celebrating with Moore. Prescott would later think back to competing with Moore for the backup job his rookie season and call it “demoralizing” because Kellen had such a knack for anticipating what the defense was doing. On this day, the two worked in perfect concert.
Late Sunday I asked Werder where he thought Moore would be the head coach next season.
I was only half-kidding.