Getty Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is expected to get looks for head coaching vacancies.
Kellen Moore’s critics were out for blood during the Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 15 victory over the New York Giants. But it was not just the fan base — as usual — who practiced football vampirism.
This time, the media led the charge against the galaxy-brained offensive coordinator.
Take, for example, Moore’s second-quarter decision on 3rd-and-7 from the Giants’ 10-yard line to dial up an Ezekiel Elliott running play, which netted two yards and forced Dallas to settle for a field goal …
“Strange third-and-7 call with the Elliott run in the red-zone,” ESPN’s Todd Archer remarked. “Wonder if Kellen Moore thought he had 2 downs there but Mike McCarthy opts for the FG. Cowboys, 9-3. The quick screen/bubble screen/smoke screen seem to be a favorite here lately but hasn’t worked well lately.”
“A bizarre third-and-7 run call from Cowboys OC Kellen Moore in red zone,” echoed Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “Would expect that if team planned a fourth-down conversion attempt. Nope. Greg Zuerlein good from 26 yards. Dallas up 9-3 on Giants.”
Alas, even Old Reliable amounted to little against Big Blue. Facing a 3rd-and-4 from the Giants’ 12-yard line on the Cowboys’ third possession, Moore called a screen to Elliott that was blown up and resulted in a 12-yard sack on quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Shout out to Kellen Moore for dialing up another of his favorite screen plays and ruining any chance the Cowboys could actually score a touchdown,” tweeted RJ Ochoa of SB Nation.
Moore is scheduled to hold his weekly press conference on Monday, December 20, during which he can expect like-minded critique of his play selection.
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‘Definitely Frustrating’
So much for slump-busting; Sunday’s effort at MetLife Stadium was yet another nondescript showing from Moore’s offense. The numbers look decent — 328 total yards, 23 first downs — but the unit sputtered in the red zone (2-for-5) and was hit-or-miss on third down (8-of-14).
Dallas’ rushing attack was fine, with Elliott (52) and Tony Pollard (74) combining for 125 ground yards and one touchdown, but the passing game couldn’t get clicking. Again. Prescott completed 28 of 37 attempts for 217 yards and one TD, a short toss to tight end Dalton Schultz.
The highest-paid player in franchise history stymied receivers Amari Cooper (two catches, eight yards) and Michael Gallup (three catches, 32 yards) and, in the process, lost a bet to DeMarcus Lawrence, who wagered the Cowboys’ defense would force more turnovers than its offense scored touchdowns. (Spoiler alert: They did.)
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Prescott said in his postgame press conference, via the official team website. “As I said, the defense is doing a great job giving us the ball, giving us the ball in plus territory. We’ve got to find a way to get in the end zone, simple as that.”
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Schultz Led Team in Receiving vs. Giants
A silver lining to take away from Dallas’ 21-6 win was the emergence of Schultz, who paced the club with eight catches on nine targets for 67 yards and the aforementioned score.
Schultz, a 2018 fourth-round draft pick, is capping off a career season after leapfrogging Blake Jarwin on the tight end depth chart. Through 14 appearances, the Stanford product has totaled a personal-best 651 receiving yards and five TDs, and needs just two grabs to surpass his 2020 highwater mark (63).
“These guys play a lot of soft zone, and we knew that. We’re going to have a bunch of shell coverage,” Schultz said of his performance, via the official team website. “If teams want to play zone against us, with guys we have on the outside, just getting to the spots, being in the right place for Dak. The underneath stuff can always open up when you have threats and weapons on the edge like we do.”