LANDOVER, Md. – Take a look at the box score of this win against Washington, and it's hard not to reminisce.
Roughly a year ago at this time, the Cowboys lacked anyone who could step up and make plays in the passing game. After two weeks of this 2019 season, one could argue they have too many.
Obviously, the Cowboys aren't going to do that. They've got to be thrilled with what they saw in this 31-21 win. This offense had eight different receivers against Washington, and three different players caught touchdowns.
In trying to figure out how to stop Dak Prescott, it's getting hard to tell who to focus on.
"Dak keeps spreading the ball around through everybody," said Michael Gallup. "Everybody is getting to touch the rock, everybody is getting a little bit of the action. It's definitely been fun."
For the second-straight week, Gallup saw the highest volume. His six catches led the team, as he turned in a solid 68-yard performance.
But the Cowboys' leading receiver came from the unlikeliest of places. Devin Smith, who made the initial roster as the No. 5 receiver, was the beneficiary of Prescott's generosity, as he finished with three catches for 74 yards. And, of course, one of those three catches was a 51-yard bomb for the Cowboys' first touchdown of the day.
"That's who Dev is," said Amari Cooper. "I played him my last year at Bama when he was at Ohio State, and that's what he was doing to us. So I know what he's capable of."
That brings things around to Cooper, who had a respectable four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Cooper helped break the game open when he found a soft spot in Washington's zone coverage and dodged a breaking safety for an easy touchdown.
"They didn't really play any man-to-man or any bump-and-run coverage – which, that's my favorite thing to go against," Cooper said. "But they didn't play that, so you just have to find the open hole and sit in it."
It's interesting, though – and exciting – that Cooper found equal billing with his teammates. For so many years, this was an offense that struggled to find a rhythm if Dez Bryant couldn't get rolling.
With Washington focused on Cooper, there were opportunities for plenty of other guys – and Prescott made sure he took advantage of that.
Don't mistake that for a bad thing, either. Cooper said last week that it was better for the offense in the long run if more guys put plays on tape. And as the Cowboys' offense continues its roll into Week 3, Cooper doesn't sound like he envies the defensive coordinators who have to game plan against it.
"They're watching film and the D-Coordinator is trying to break down 'How do we beat this team,'" he said. "And when you see everybody all over the film making plays, it's just harder for him to prepare – especially in a game where they only have one week to prepare for us. I think it's a very good thing for us."
The Cowboys have put two weeks' worth of plays on film. Unfortunately for those defensive coordinators, it looks like anybody's guess who will have the next big one.
