Dak Prescott delivers blunt assessment of Cowboys' offensive identity: 'Are we proud of it? I don't know'

FRISCO, Texas -- Dak Prescott offered a blunt assessment when asked whether the Dallas Cowboys have established an offensive identity through eight games.

"Is it one we're proud of? I don't know," Prescott said Thursday. "We'll be better, I can promise."

Dallas is scoring 27.4 points per game, but its offense has become less varied and less quarterback-friendly in 2026. The Cowboys rank near the bottom of the NFL in pre-snap motion and use play action and under-center formations less frequently than last season.

The Cowboys ranked in the top half of the league in play-action rate (28.2%), under-center rate (38.4%) and motion rate (56.6%). With Brian Schottenheimer leading the offensive playcalling, the Cowboys now profile as second-to-last in motion rate (36.5%), 22nd out of 32 teams in under-center rate (30.4%) and 21st in play-action rate. This was always going to be a pass-first offense with Prescott and his superstar receivers, but with general inefficacy (94.1 rushing yards per game, eighth-worst in the NFL) in 2026, Dallas is running the football at the fifth-lowest rate in the league at 32.5%. 

The disconnect is between Schottenheimer and Prescott, with the coach seemingly believing it's harder to use motion when trailing and that it can "cloud the picture" for a quarterback. Prescott has a different approach.

"Sometimes, it's [motion] just to dress it up and take the defense, give them a different look of us running a core play and breaking some tendencies with a motion to get this play done," Prescott said. "Sometimes it's used strictly for me to see the disguise, to see the matchups that we've got or to create different matchups by moving them from one side to the other and really just getting all the information I can through motion."

Motion rate

56.6% (13th)

33.8% (31st)

Play action rate

28.2% (9th)

24.2% (21st)

Under center rate

38.4% (11th)

35.7% (22nd)

Run rate

41.5% (24th)

35.5% (28th)

Tempo (average time between snaps in seconds)

32.9 (Fastest)

33.8 (Fastest)

If Schottenheimer doesn't reinstall the easy buttons in the Cowboys' offense, Prescott and company may struggle to keep Dallas above water while its porous defense continues to drown. 

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