The Dallas Cowboys offense is, by all intents and purposes, the best thing going for the team in 2026. The defense is in shambles, and the special teams unit has looked the same as last season, and worse in some regards. Year after year, though, as long as Dak Prescott is under center, the Cowboys have been able to produce a top offense.
That's regardless of the primary play caller and script designer. Since the days of Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore to the current model of Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams, and everyone in between, Prescott has delivered. Yet this year, the engine has sputtered a bit, as if some dirt got in the gas tank.
The offense still produces at elite levels, but there are several times where things aren't in sync and
it looks disjointed. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams responded to a question about those inconsistencies.
DallasCowboys.com Patrik Walker asked Adams bluntly, and his reponse was well worth the time.
[🔬 tap to unfold]:
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) October 15, 2026
a candid admission by Klayton Adams — after i asked the #Cowboys OC to identify the fix for getting Dallas’ offense to finally start putting together four quarters of dominance, and not just in spots during games.
he told me:
“Yeah, we have to develop an… pic.twitter.com/fQRlnewR3N
“Yeah, we have to develop an identity, and we're still searching for that. So far, what you've seen from us is streaky and somewhat inconsistent.
“I would say some of that is because we've really been, for the most part, been able to kind of hit with one hand. We need to we need to be more balanced.
“We need to use the boxing analogy. We need to be able to hit you with both hands and we've kind of been playing with one arm behind our back right now, because we really haven't been very good [in the run game].”
Dallas ranks fifth in DVOA this season, at 17.9%. That means if the average offense was swapped in for Dallas' in the exact same down, distance and game scenario, the Cowboys version performs 18% better. Dallas is ninth overall in passing, and 13th in rushing.
The rush is improving, as the Cowboys moved from 17th in Rush EPA (expected points added) after two weeks, up to 10th after five weeks. If the run game continues to get better, the club could become a true juggernaut, good enough to overcome one of the league's worst defense.
The Cowboys will get the opportunity to use both hands, and hopefully fluently transition between traditional and southpaw when they take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 6.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Coach says Cowboys offense is boxing 'with one hand behind our back'
