The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2008 with a convincing 25-point victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Cowboys got off to a better start this week by scoring on their first two possessions.

You can review the data and analysis from Week 2 here and Week 1 here. In Week 3, Dallas continued its success on third and short, and Moore continued to alter the run-pass tendencies from both under center and in shotgun. Here’s how.

The Raw Data from Week 3 vs. the Miami Dolphins

Where these numbers differ from the official stat line it is because I intentionally included offensive plays which were negated for penalties (five offensive plays were nullified by penalties).

Dallas ran 71 plays on offense not including the kneel down on the final play of the game. Quarterback Dak Prescott took 32 snaps from under center and 39 from the shotgun. This is very similar to previous weeks when Prescott has taken between two and four more snaps from the shotgun.

Snaps taken from under center

Of the 32 snaps from under center in Week 3:

23 were runs

Two were passes

Six were play-action passes

One was a run off play-action

Former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan was frequently criticized for being predictable because the Cowboys ran so often when Prescott took the snap from under center. Last week against Washington, Moore called runs on just 69% of the snaps from under center; this week against the Dolphins, the number of rushes increased to 75% (23 rushes and one run off an option out of 32 snaps from under center).

It may be tempting to interpret this increase in running plays from under center as a slide back into the habits established by Linehan. However, 11 of the rushes came in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys were putting the game away. If you look at the first three quarters, Dallas only ran on 12 of 19 snaps from under center. That is just 63%, which is significantly lower than when Linehan was calling the plays.

The other thing that stands out is the fact Prescott is so rarely asked to drop straight back from under center and deliver a pass (twice this week). Given all of the stories this offseason about the improvement in his footwork, it may surprise some that Moore has not asked him to do this more often. He did it three times against the New York and just twice against Washington.

Snaps taken in the shotgun

Of the 39 snaps taken in the shotgun in Week 3:

10 were runs

22 were passes

five were play-action passes

two were option runs by the RB

Moore called running plays (including the play-action runs) on 12 of the plays from the shotgun (30.7%). His ongoing dedication to running from the shotgun is one of the most noticeable changes from the way Linehan called plays. Against the Redskins in Week 2, Dallas ran the ball more than 30% of the plays from the shotgun (12 of 36) after running on just 18% of the shotgun plays in Week 1 (6 of 34).

The runs out of the shotgun have had moderate success, but Moore’s commitment to running from the shotgun has at least three positive effects: it makes his offense less predictable than Linehan’s; it helps make the play-action more effective; and it slows down the pass rush because it forces the defense to defend both the pass and the run when they are in the shotgun.

Third and Short

The Cowboys faced third-and-short (three yards or less) only three times against Miami. Continuing the pattern that he established in Week 2 (using shotgun on all five they faces third and short), Moore had Prescott line up in the shotgun on all three of these third-down attempts and Dallas converted them all.

The first conversion was a seven-yard run by RB Ezekiel Elliot; the second was a four-yard pass to WR Amari Cooper; and the third was a option play on which Prescott pitched the ball to Elliot for a two-yard gain.

The Cowboys are now seven for eight on third-and-short this year. Being able to consistently convert is integral to sustaining drives and scoring points, so it will be interesting to see if Moore’s offense can continue to be so successful on third and short.

Miscellaneous Observations

Moore continues to have the offense go no-huddle periodically. Dallas did so on 15 plays against the Dolphins, which is a fairly marked increase from previous (six times against the Redskins and 11 against the Giants). Prior to Miami, the Cowboys did notuse it on more than two consecutive plays but there was one drive in the third quarter Dallas ran seven consecutive plays without huddling. The end result was an 11-yard touchdown scamper by Prescott.

The use of the no-huddle was not a statistic I tracked under Linehan. That being said, memory suggests Linehan did not utilize the it nearly as frequently as Moore. This is another wrinkle that Moore has successfully added to make the Dallas offense less predictable and more difficult to defend.

Although it didn’t affect the outcome of the game, the Cowboys committed far too many big penalties on offense. Everyone will remember the 74-yard touchdown catch by WR Randall Cobb that was negated by a holding call on LG Connor Williams, but there were other big plays called back. There was a 12 yard run by RB Ezekiel Elliott in the first quarter that was nullified by a holding call on LT Tyron Smith. Cobb had a 20 yard reception on a second and three play in the second quarter that was erased by an illegal shift by FB Jamize Olawale. Elliott had an 18 yard rush in the third quarter wiped out because of a holding penalty by RT La’el Collins. That is 124 yards of offense lost to penalties.

You can follow on Twitter @CJosephWright.