Jori Epstein | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

FRISCO, Texas— It’s Saturday morning, just after position group meetings, when Amari Cooper and fellow Cowboys receivers grab an 11x17-inch piece of paper covered in size-10-font writing.

Cooper scans fill-in-the-blank questions along the double-sided cheat sheet with which Cowboys receivers review tricky plays, key route releases and assignments against their next opponent. Then Cooper settles on his favorite part of the quiz—the “reason to look at the test,” Cooper jokes.

In all-caps, bolded, underlined font at the end of the quiz reads the word “BONUS.” A riddle that has nothing to do with football follows. Cooper typically ponders it for the next five minutes.

“I am a horse without legs and a body, I jump but never run,” began one riddle this season that receivers coach Sanjay Lal specifically intended for his chess-loving star wideout. “What kind of horse am I?”

(The answer—a chess knight—popped into Cooper’s head after about 30 seconds, he says with a smile.)

The riddles are a tradition Lal has carried through a decade of coaching in the league across five NFL teams, dating back to less-Google-heavy days when he relied on a book of riddles to research the best question of the week. They’re one of many ways Lal aims to both stump and relax the receivers driving the NFL’s top offense. The brainteasers are intended to both calm the players' minds and encourage them to think ahead. The goal: When on-field challenges arise, like the league’s stingiest defense awaiting them in New England this weekend, Cowboys receivers will be ready.

“I’ve always liked things that make you think,” Lal told USA TODAY Sports.

His players agree.

‘If I lock in on it, I can get it’

Lal has posed riddles directly to receivers the last decade with the Raiders, Jets, Bills, Colts and now Cowboys. The brainteasers’ reach has grown alongside Lal’s digitized bank of receiver tests. Lal’s 9- and 11-year-old daughters now inquire which riddle he will include on this week’s quiz. Players ask their family and friends for input, receiver Tavon Austin said. And often, Lal has discovered, his receivers relay the riddle to their quarterback, getting Dak Prescott in on the fun.

Cowboys players go from position meetings to unit meetings on mornings of the day before their game. Prescott and Cooper sit by one another to ensure they’re on the same page with the game plan. While together, Cooper grabs the receivers quiz from his book bag and shows Prescott the riddle. They jostle over who solves it fastest, Prescott flashing particularly quick response time on one riddle featuring the Happy Birthday song.

Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports

“Sometimes he just gets it right away like, 10 seconds,” Cooper told USA TODAY Sports, snapping his fingers in illustration of Prescott’s sharp speed. “I feel like I can talk about anything with Dak, whether it’s something intellectual or not.”

Other times, Prescott needs longer. He enlists his backup quarterbacks to pool hypotheses. Prescott returns to the receivers’ night meeting to check his answer, receiver Ventell Bryant said.

“I’ll usually figure them out at some point,” Prescott told USA TODAY Sports. “If I want, if I lock in on it, I can get it.”

The same has been true of Prescott and his receivers’ league-best offense lately.

Patriots ‘want to break you mentally’

The Cowboys (6-4) will channel athleticism and physical gifts to attack Bill Belichick and the 9-1 Patriots’ defense in New England this weekend. But against one of the best defensive schemers in NFL history, and a unit constantly changing its coverages and looks, the Cowboys know they’ll also need to be mentally sharp as ever.

“This is a type of game where it’s basically who can break mentally first,” receiver Randall Cobb said. “They want to break you mentally.”

It’s moments like these that Lal has been intellectually challenging his receivers for all season. The Cowboys' pass game has benefited greatly from Prescott’s electric play. He leads the league in passing yards per game (322.1), yards per pass attempt (8.8) and sack percentage (3.18, three times less than his rate in 2018). A deep group of offensive weapons has helped power a league-best 52% conversion rate on third down. But so, too, has Prescott’s communication and cerebral game-planning with his receivers.

“So helpful. So helpful,” Prescott said. “Honestly, this whole offense, I don’t know if I credit the front office or credit them individually, but a lot of our guys are cerebral. A lot of our guys are very intelligent, very football smart. And that allows me to play a lot faster.”

Take the Cowboys’ play with 1:42 remaining in the first half last Sunday against the Lions. Cobb wondered whether he should adjust his route based on a blitz protection he spotted at the line of scrimmage. He clapped vigorously before Prescott snapped the ball to clear confusion, then cut so decisively on his route that the cornerback assigned to Cobb fell. Cobb gained 49 yards on the play, the longest of the game. Two plays later, Prescott and Cobb connected up the middle for a 19-yard touchdown.

“We pride ourselves on being big-play guys and we all have the ability,” Cobb said, “[So you] make sure you’re on the same page and see it the same.”

Cooper, too, regularly compares pointers with Prescott on the sideline. The corner is playing me low hip, Cooper has told Prescott, so let’s beat him on the go ball. Let’s ditch the fade release in favor of an inside release because Mike Hughes is clamping outside, they discussed against Minnesota. Lal drills these tendencies into his receivers from early-week practices through sideline conversations so on field, they’re ready.

“All the nuances and details that they have to commit to muscle memory,” Lal says. “Otherwise they’ll be thinking.”

It’s a paradox that both football and Lal’s riddles present to his receivers: They must play smart but not overthink games, especially against a defense capable of adjusting its coverage as fluidly as the Patriots do. Riddles intentionally challenge receivers to think critically but also focus on something other than their game responsibilities.

And with each one—from Sudoku-like number clues to a brain teaser promoting the Pythagorean Theorem to the birthday song Prescott intuited so quickly—they build mental toughness. In a game where the NFL's top offense and top defense match so statistically evenly, the Cowboys believe beating the Patriots could come down to mental edge.

“If so, I like our chances,” Prescott said. “I know how mentally tough this group is. If that’s what it comes down to, I like our chances.

“I like where we stand.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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