One had to wonder, watching the Cowboys thrash the Giants in the season opener, when was the moment that rookie offensive coordinator Kellen Moore felt like it clicked?

Was it the second possession that methodically chewed up 75 yards in 11 plays and ended with a Blake Jarwin touchdown? The next drive that went 93 yards and ended with Jason Witten in the end zone? The following series that traversed another 83 yards and gave Dallas 21 points with time still left in the first half? The first possession after intermission that went 75 yards in three plays, gave Dak Prescott his fourth touchdown of the day (each to a different receiver), and showed that the team wasn’t about to let up after the break? Or maybe the next drive that let Ezekiel Elliot get in on the scoring after an 89-yard march, the first time the Cowboys have scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions since 2014?

According to Moore, it was hearing from reporters about team owner Jerry Jones’s postgame comments on the new-look offense in the convincing win. “It’s a credit to Kellen,” Jones said, citing a noticeable uptick over Cowboys teams of the recent past in things like presnap motion, play-action, crossing routes, and misdirection. “All of that, you put that in a basket and look at it, and it was an A-plus job by our offensive gameplan and playcalling.”

“Well, he got my name right,” Moore laughed in his own postgame interview. “He used to call me Keelan, so… It must mean I’m doing something right.”

Moore’s joke about his boss aside, it truly was a coming-out party of sorts for the 30-year old coordinator. And after an offseason full of guesswork over just how different it would be, the grand reveal of his offense was a thing of beauty to watch at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. Except maybe for the other 31 defensive coordinators around the league. Because, based on what Dallas displayed Sunday, this squad could be dangerous. And they know it.

“I think you saw a dose of what we could do, ” Randall Cobb said after his first game in a Cowboys uniform. “We did some really good things tonight, with some things we could have done better. But overall, I think we showed that we can dominate as an offense.”

“We’re just lethal,” wideout Amari Cooper put it matter-of-factly. “Defenses should watch out.”

Second-year receiver Michael Gallup had an explosive performance, with seven catches for 158 yards, both team highs. But he joins Cooper in warning that the next dagger could come from any number of playmakers in the new-look Dallas offense.

“We’ve got a lot of weapons all across the board,” said Gallup after the victory. “We’ve got Zeke in the backfield, we got TP [Tony Pollard] in the backfield, we got Randall Cobb, we got Coop, we got me, we got Witt. You know, all over the board. So that quick strike that we have? Everybody needs to focus up.”

But even though things at times looked dramatically different on the field- and especially the scoreboard- this wasn’t so much a new-and-improved Dallas offense as it was a tuned-up version of what’s been under their hood all along. Tight end Jason Witten broke it down further:

“One of the things Kellen talks about with this offense is, in a lot of ways, we’re doing the same stuff we do. Aggressively take what they give us. We had a lot success with the RPO [run-pass option] game; I think that was a counter of one of the things they wanted to take away: ‘We’ll get into Cover-2 and take away these RPOs,” and then boom, Amari goes right down the middle, and a couple plays later you hit a really similar play to Cobb. So, a lot of weapons. I think it starts with the coordinator, and then it trickles down to the linemen who’ll protect it, and certainly Dak’s command. We talked all offseason about his ability to take the next step in all phases; I thought he showed it from minute one out there today.”

Prescott himself admitted the gameplan wasn’t to roll out a whole slew of brand-new plays, but to be smarter and more aggressive about using the plays already in the playbook, and maybe dressing them up in unexpected ways.

“I don’t know that we ran one play tonight that hasn’t been in our offense for some time,” Prescott told the media from the podium.

“Credit to Kellen for just dialing them up, putting it at the right time, knowing what the defense is going to give us. You saw, it resulted in a few wide-open touchdowns. We’re going to change things up, you’re going to see some people in some different places, and we’re going to do the things that we’re good at. It’s only the beginning.”

“I thought we did a good job mixing the run and pass offensively,” head coach Jason Garrett offered in his postgame press conference. “Made a lot of plays in the passing game. A lot of different guys got involved, different guys scored touchdowns. I just thought it was pretty efficient. It was pretty explosive throughout.”

With 400+ yards through the air, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a rare perfect passer rating, Prescott’s performance was impressive by any measure, even against a Giants defense that’s considered less-than-elite. And to anyone who watched the game, the 35-17 final score looked closer than the game actually was. But Prescott shook off the notion that the Week 1 win was easy.

“It’s the NFL. Nothing’s easy,” Prescott argued.

“I will say it felt like a well-oiled machine, though. I talked about it last night to the offense. We’ve got so many great players on that offense. Whatever 11 is out there, when you handle your one job and trust the other ten guys are going to do that, that’s what happens.”

A “well-oiled machine” isn’t a phrase that’s been used about the Cowboys offense in recent seasons. And while a high-flying offense may well become a hallmark of the 2019 team, Garrett maintains that the team’s identity doesn’t necessarily lie in gaudy stats and monster individual performances.

“We’re a physical football team,” Garrett emphasized. “It starts with our guys up front; we have a physical runner. That’s where it starts for our team. We want to be physical on the offensive/defensive lines, and we want to be physical throughout. So that’s a big part of our team identity and certainly our offensive identity. But then you want to attack different ways. You want to get the ball to different people, you want to use different formations, you want to move around a little bit, and really play downhill at the defense. We’re a work in progress in all phases of our team; I thought we had a good start today.”

For all the fireworks put on by his offense in his first official game on the job, Moore also knows that a Week 1 rout does not a season make.

Kellen Moore: “At the end of the day, it was a great start. We played really well. There are little moments where you want it a little better, start faster, end better. But we got to recognize all the good things and continue to build on those.” https://t.co/EDqlw6Aeep — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 9, 2019

“I’m as excited over the fundamental things, the way we executed,” Jones began when listing off the things that impressed him about Moore’s opening day scheme. “I’m excited over our gameplan, the adjustments we made, I’m excited over what we are basically doing as we prepare of the season. I know the size of our portfolio; it’s a lot bigger than it used to be. We’ve got a lot of things… When’s the last time you saw a throw down the field to a fullback? Just in the normal course of things? Get ready. Get ready. That’s coming.”

Granted, it was just one game. But the wrinkles that Moore brings to the high-potential Cowboys offense were evident all day in Arlington, and they were eye-opening. Moore may have joked about his lack of name recognition within his own building, but there’s a good chance his could become a household name around the league if Sunday’s show was just the start of a longer trend.

If that happens, it won’t be a surprise to everyone. Those who have been closest to Moore say they’ve seen it coming for a while.

“From the very beginning,” Prescott said upon being asked when he recognized Moore’s acumen. “When I first became a Cowboy, that was my job: I was to compete against Kellen Moore for the backup position. It was demoralizing to watch him anticipate throws and read the defense, to see the defense as he did. It was tough; I didn’t like it. But I also admired that part of him and wanted to be that someday. And so the moment that he transitioned into the coaching role, he’s one of these geniuses. It’s great to just be calling the plays, we have a great relationship, and it’s been fun.”

Sunday was fun indeed. Cowboys fans hope they can expect plenty Moore fun from the genius whose boss used to call him Keelan.

Week 1 Game Coverage