Inside The Star
I love watching Dallas Cowboys football, and when I see the ball snap I see it like any other fan. I watched 94 plays get a score and wondered how often they finish a play with points.
No guessing, just facts through 16 games.
Dallas has run 1,066 plays and produced 94 scoring plays. That equals 9.1% of all plays ending in a score, or about one score every 11 plays.
We know the Dallas Cowboys run a lot of plays. By this I mean the 1,066 plays are the most by a team in the NFL.
When I first saw the Cowboys score once every 11 plays, on average, I like most fans, and thought to myself, is that good enough? Does that feel like the offense we’re watching every week?
The answer depends on what kind of offense you think Dallas is trying to be.
Because here’s the thing: Dallas doesn’t play like the league’s sprint offenses. They don’t live on 70-yard swings and highlight reels.
This team scores by stacking correct decisions. It is a drive-sustaining offense built on rhythm, timing, and efficiency. When Dak Prescott is in a groove, it looks like a surgeon working in progression, not a roulette wheel spinning.
We have all watched Dak control pace, manipulate safeties, and take the completions the defense gives him.
We’ve watched CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens turn leverage into separation, and we have witnessed Jake Ferguson become one of the most reliable middle-of-the-field tight ends in the NFC.
Even the offensive line, needless to say, a patchwork offensive line, has given Dak just enough time to keep the gameplay intact.
When I see that 9.07% scoring frequency, I don’t see a struggling offense. This is an offense that scores often, while staying true to its identity.
With that being said, is this the best offense in the NFL? No.
The L.A. Rams offense leads by frequency at 11.21%, scoring on 113 of 1,009 plays. Detroit is right behind at 10.73%, followed by Buffalo at an even 10.00%.
Dallas checks in at fourth on the list, scoring on more occasions than most teams despite running a slightly higher number of plays than the top three.
And that’s what people miss when they talk about Dallas, like the offense is malfunctioning.
In the NFL, the league average across 16 games is 8.18%. Which points to the Cowboys being nearly one point above the average.
We are not seeing the league’s highest-frequency offense, but they are above the median, and above the tier of teams fans constantly reference as “better-run” offenses.
Dallas has scored more frequently per play than:
Meanwhile, Tennessee has played 16 games with the lowest scoring frequency at 4.91%.
The gap between Dallas...
