FRISCO, Texas – The bye week has arrived at a perfect time for the Cowboys' roster, including several players battling through injuries in recent weeks.
It's also a chance for offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to peel back and evaluate what's worked and what needs improvement for his group after seven games.
"I think obviously we're in a place where there's obviously a lot of good going on and then recognize that there's still plenty of things to clean up and improve on," Moore said Wednesday. "I think that's the nice part about this bye week. You go through that process. You recognize both sides of it."
The midseason returns are promising. Through seven games, Moore's offense is ranked first in total yards (437.9) and tied for seventh in scoring average (27.1). Quarterback Dak Prescott (2,123), running back Ezekiel Elliott (602 yards) and wide receiver Amari Cooper (621) are all ranked in the top five respectively in passing, rushing and receiving yards.
Last Sunday, the Cowboys piled up a season-high 37 points against the Eagles and snapped a three-game losing streak in which the offense totaled only 56 points. Much of their struggles were self-inflicted: penalties, turnovers and drops.
Last week, Prescott remained confident the group would regain its efficiency and explosiveness if they "get out of our own way."
They did. A faster start also helped. Two early takeaways by the defense led to an early 14-0 lead. The offense scored three touchdowns off four takeaways in the 37-10 win.
The Cowboys have been their best when they're balanced, when the offensive line and Elliott – the NFL's two-time rushing champ – can wear down defenses over four quarters in concert with Prescott's work in the pass game.
"Anytime you have a lead obviously it changes things a little bit," Moore said. "The Green Bay game, for example, would we have loved to have Zeke get a bunch more carries? Yeah, absolutely. But we played the whole second half having to play catch-up a little bit."
To a certain extent, the same thing happened in a loss to the New York Jets the following week.
That changed against the Eagles. That's the type of production they're looking for the rest of the way.
"There's a lot of positives," Moore said, "and a lot of things at the same time that you look at and say, 'If we can clean that up, we can help ourselves from a scheme standpoint, we can help ourselves from an execution standpoint,' and just keep building on it."
