The Dallas Cowboys have one of the worst offenses in football through three weeks, and Dak Prescott is going to receive the lion's share of the blame, even though other factors have certainly contributed the offense's ineptitude.

Even with the other factors at play, Prescott simply hasn't been good enough. Through three games, Prescott has yet to throw for more than 170 yards or average more than 6.4 yards per attempt.

In fact, his actual yards per attempt average (5.66) is the 27th-best in the NFL, behind dubious names such as Mitch Trubisky, Blake Bortles, Josh Allen, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco. Prescott has thrown for just two touchdowns and the offense has averaged an abysmal 13.7 points per game, second-worst in the NFL.

This is all despite the Cowboys averaging 132.7 rushing yards per game, seventh in the NFL. The running game hasn't reached 2016 levels of dominance, but it's far from the problem thus far.

The Cowboys passing game is stuck in a rut, and Prescott is in the midst of the worst stretch of play in his short NFL career.

Something needs to change in the Cowboys offense. The current plan isn't working, and it's time for the personnel and coaching staff to adjust.

Earlier this season, we discussed the areas where Prescott needed to improve. Now, it's time to figure out a way for the Cowboys to manufacture production in the passing game, taking advantage of the few areas where Prescott has excelled as of late.

Better Pass Protection

For Prescott and the passing attack to improve, the Cowboys' pass protection must improve. If there's one thing Prescott has proven as of late, it's that he can't function under pressure.

In Weeks 10-17 last season, Prescott was 27th in NFL passer rating (57.5) when under pressure among qualifying passers, per Pro Football Focus. He was behind illustrious quarterbacks such as Bryce Petty, Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert and Eli Manning. Through three weeks this season, Prescott is 28th in NFL passer rating while under pressure (42.7) and 31st in completion percentage (32.1).

The fact of the matter is Prescott lacks the arm talent to consistently make throws under pressure. When a quarterback is under pressure, he is forced to make throws without the proper mechanics -- like if he has pressure in his face so he can't step into his throw or has to change his throwing platform to get the ball out while on the run. That means the quarterback has to rely mostly on his arm to generate velocity and correctly place the throw.

Prescott is a rhythm thrower who needs the time and space to step into his throws and drive the ball with good placement. Pressure exacerbates any bad habits that the quarterback already has, while also creating new ones. Prescott has a tendency to get lazy with his footwork, inhibiting his ability to properly transfer his weight and drive on his throws. Under pressure, Prescott doesn't magically have pristine footwork, it gets worse, leading to even more inaccurate throws.

This isn't uncommon among quarterbacks in the NFL, but it does demonstrate how important it is for the Cowboys to adequately protect Prescott.

Prescott has been pressured on 39.4 percent of his drop backs this season, sixth most among qualifying quarterbacks, and sacked 26.8 percent of the time, 10th most, per PFF.

The Cowboys offensive line has floundered without center Travis Frederick, as each offensive lineman has had his own fair share of issues through three weeks.

Tyron Smith hasn't been as consistent as he's needed to be, especially struggling opposite Frank Clark last week. Connor Williams has gone through the typical growing pains of a rookie, struggling on occasion with power. Joe Looney hasn't been bad by any means, but he deserves partial blame for Dallas' communication issues up front. Zack Martin has been the best Cowboys offensive lineman, but even he has struggled through stretches, giving up six pressures in just three games, which is more than half as many as he gave up all of last season (11). La'el Collins has struggled with consistency, looking like an All-Pro on some snaps and a below-replacement level starter on others.

Every sack the #Cowboys have given up through Week 3. pic.twitter.com/OYjrJekCBG — Jim Jeff (@CowboysGifs) September 25, 2018

On the 11 plays where Prescott was sacked, five were on account of an offensive lineman being beaten, two were because Dallas failed to pick up the blitz, two others were because Prescott vacated a clean pocket to run into pressure, one was on a stunt where La'el Collins and Zack Martin failed to properly pass off a stunt, and the last was when Barkevious Mingo sniffed out Dallas' play-action bootleg.

No matter what the Cowboys do schematically, it won't make a difference if the Cowboys don't do a better job of protecting Prescott.

More drop back, play-action passes

Despite the fact that it is seventh in rushing yards per game and average an NFL-best six yards per

on the ground this season, the Cowboys offense has only called play-action passes on 22 percent of Prescott's

, 20

th

-most in the NFL.

Does that make any sense to anyone? One of the biggest advantages to having a great ground game is that it improves the efficiency of the play-action pass, but Dallas has decided to not take advantage.

This isn't a new trend either. In 2017, the Cowboys averaged the second most rushing yards per game (135.6) and had the third most yards per

(4.5), but only called play-action on 21.1 percent of the times Prescott dropped back (24

th

among qualifying quarterbacks).

Yet in Prescott's rookie

he stole Tony Romo's job and lit the NFL on fire, he used play-action with the fourth most frequency in the NFL, per PFF.

When Prescott has had the opportunity to utilize play-action, he's been lethal, accumulating an NFL passer rating above 100 on play-action passes in his first two seasons and through Week 3 in 2018. Since he came into the league, Prescott has thrown for 13 touchdowns and just one interception, completing 67.7 percent of his passes, when using play action compared with 34 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, completing 64 percent of his passes, without play-action.

This year, Landon Collins and Bobby Wagner have stated that their biggest focus when facing the Cowboys is to stop the run. Yet, the Cowboys coaching staff has failed to take advantage.

The biggest benefit of the play-action pass is that it takes advantage of teams anxious to stop the run. When second-level defenders crash the line of scrimmage at the first sign of a run, it opens intermediate portions of the field, which allows quarterbacks to take advantage of throws in front of the safeties. This play from last season is a great example:

DAL just gashed OAK on the ground, so it uses PA to hit Witten on the Ohio concept.



OAK in Cover 3. TWill clears out the boundary CB while the PA draws up the LBs, leaving Witten wide open. #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/NvD5vTNEaq — John Owning (@JohnOwning) December 19, 2017

On this play, the Cowboys are in 12 personnel against Oakland's base defense. To the strongside of the play, Jason Witten and Terrance Williams are running an 'Ohio' concept, where the outside receiver runs a streak to clear space for the inside receivers out route, while the backside receiver is running a simple dig route.

After the ball is snapped, the play-action fake draws up Oakland's linebackers, who vacated their zone to defend the run, leaving a ton of open space on the second level for Witten to get open for the 18-yard catch.

Notice how the above play was a drop back, play-action pass instead of the play-action bootleg that has become too predictable and easy for teams to defend, as Barkevious Mingo proved last Sunday.

Mingo sack to start the 2nd Q.



Great ind. play to sniff out the PA + burst & finish in space. Smart to use momentum to rip him around into the ground rather than tackle straight on & risk penalty. pic.twitter.com/zzDiaNPXNT — James Thomas (@JamesThomasHT) September 24, 2018

The key difference between a drop back, play-action pass and a play-action bootleg is that on a high percentage of play-action bootlegs (in the Cowboys case), there is an unblocked backside defender. This means that if the defense doesn't bite on the play-action, the quarterback is likely to be sacked or at least have pressure in his face.

On a drop back, play-action pass, there isn't an unblocked defender, meaning there is more room for error if the defense doesn't bite on the fake.

One of the best parts of the play-action passing game is that it's mutually beneficial for the run game. If linebackers stop biting on the play-action fake, it means they will be a step late getting to their gap once a run is called.

A high frequency of play-action passes causes indecision in a defense, and indecision from a defense creates positive opportunities for the offense.

Another benefit of the drop back, play-action passing game is that a team can tinker with the quarterback's launch point, where the quarterback is designed the throw the ball after taking his drop. This makes life difficult for pass rushers because they can't rush to the same spot every time. Varying the depths of the quarterback's drop will cause rushers to be hesitant because they don't know where the quarterback will settle after his drop, invariably beneficial for the offensive line.

The Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles were the top three teams in points score last season. Uncoincidentally, each of their starting quarterbacks used play-action frequently. The Eagles' Nick Foles and Carson Wentz finished first and sixth respectively in play-action rate, the percentage of drop backs where play-action occurred, while the Rams' Jared Goff ranked third and the Patriots' Tom Brady eighth, per PFF.

It's time the Cowboys steal a tendency from the best offenses in the NFL and incorporate more drop back, play-action style passing into their offense.

Final Thoughts

If the Cowboys can protect Prescott better in the pocket while running play-action passes with more frequency, the Cowboys offense can become at least average by NFL standards.

It's becoming painfully obvious that Dallas lacks the weapons at receiver and tight end for the team to have a top-10 type of offense. Prescott isn't the type of quarterback who can elevate the level of play of his weapons.

Still, the Cowboys offense can be more productive than it has shown through the first three weeks. Better blocking upfront and a higher volume of play-action passes, in theory, would increase the efficiency of the Cowboys' passing attack, which would lead to a better offense that puts more points on the board.

John Owning writes about NFL player evaluation for SportsDayDFW.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnOwning.