Troy Aikman, the Fox analyst, never has minced words when critiquing the Cowboys, the franchise to which Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback, led to three Super Bowl titles during the 1990s.

Who can forget last November, when, following Dallas' 28-14 home loss to Tennessee that dropped the Cowboys to 3-5, Aikman made his feelings about the state of the franchise crystal-clear during his weekly radio appearance with The Ticket's Musers?

"I'd say there has to be a complete overhaul of the entire organization," he said that day.

Flash forward to Sunday's Cowboys-Giants 2019 season opener at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys haven't been overhauled since Aikman's tongue-lashing, but they certainly have come a long way, going 8-1 in regular-season games since that Tennessee loss and 1-1 in last season's playoffs.

Moments before the start of the game, Aikman told Fox viewers that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has lofty goals EVERY season, regardless.

"I think this season those expectations are justified," Aikman said. "You look at this roster, it's loaded. And I think it's as talented a group as some of the teams that I was part of the last time they won a title here in Dallas."

As Sunday's game unfolded, Aikman and broadcast partner Joe Buck repeatedly lauded the Cowboys, particularly the play of quarterback Dak Prescott and the diversity and explosiveness of Dallas' offense under first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

"This Dallas Cowboys offense has a different look at feel to it," Buck said midway through the third quarter, after Prescott completed his fourth touchdown pass to a fourth different receiver, Randall Cobb.

"What a debut for Kellen Moore," Buck added, after the Cowboys increased their lead to 35-10 later in the period.

Of Prescott, Aikman said, "There was talk that they might have been able to get him signed (to a contract extension) before this game kicked off. For Dak Prescott and Jerry Jones, the price might have just gone up, the way he has thrown the football."

To illustrate his point, Aikman referred to the Cowboys' first drive of the second half. Yes, Amari Cooper and Cobb were wide open for completions of 45 and 25 yards, respectively, but in Aikman's estimation there was a noticeable difference in the way Prescott executed those plays.

"There were open guys, the coverage was not very good, some well-designed stuff by Kellen Moore," Aikman said. "But a year ago, there were times when those throws were there that Dak didn't always make them. Today, he has made them. The work that he has put in has really paid off."

Last season's Cowboys, Buck pointed out, scored touchdowns only 48-percent of the times they advanced inside the opponents' 20-yard-line -- the fourth-worst percentage in the NFL.

Through three quarters Sunday, the Cowboys were five-for-five on such opportunities. The Texas Longhorns would have been wise to take notes.

"I think as you talk about Kellen Moore and 'Where does his impact need to be felt the most?' this is where that has to happen," Aikman said. "They did some good things last year as an offense, especially after Amari Cooper was brought in. . . . But they've got to be better down here (in the red zone)."

Buck and Aikman noted that the Cowboys under Moore, as opposed to the past four seasons under Scott Linehan, showed considerably more pre-snap alignment changes.

Late in the second quarter, Tavon Austin became the seventh different Cowboy to receive a pass from Prescott.

"I just sense, watching this offense now with Kellen Moore's direction," Aikman said, "we're going to see a lot of guys getting more action, like Tavon Austin, that other times were put on the shelf."