Brian Schottenheimer’s genius plan to incorporate more pistol sets in Cowboys offense

Dak Prescott is going to thrive in Brian Schottenheimer’s offense.

One of the bigger questions for new head coach and offensive play-caller Brian Schottenheimer is how much this Cowboys offense will change. Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator for Mike McCarthy’s two seasons calling plays, and he was also a coaching consultant in Kellen Moore’s final season in Dallas.

Unsurprisingly, Schottenheimer has often referred to the offensive changes as more tweaks than overhauls. Still, he’s emphasized a few things he wants to utilize more, with pre-snap shifts and motion as major talking points. On Tuesday, he mentioned something else:

The pistol formation will be making its way to Dallas in 2025, which is a brilliant idea from the coach. When Schottenheimer was in Seattle – the last time he was the full-time play-caller – he used more and more of the formation each year, and the Seahawks ranked in the top 10 in EPA/pass out of pistol looks all three seasons.

New offensive coordinator Klayton Adams also has experience with the pistol formation. Last year, he watched the Cardinals run the ninth-most plays from the pistol and lead the league in EPA/rush from the formation.

For those unfamiliar, the pistol formation is a bit of a hybrid between the shotgun and under center formations. The quarterback lines up only a couple yards behind the center, usually with the running back behind him rather than next to him, as it would be in a shotgun look.

The main benefits of the pistol formation come in play-action, a concept Schottenheimer has repeatedly said he wants to use a lot on offense. Because the quarterback turns around to face the running back, mimicking under center formations in that regard, it’s harder for defenses to read the mesh point and determine if it’s a run or a pass. Additionally, it gives the quarterback a little extra spacing from the line of scrimmage compared to under center looks.

The pistol formation has been a staple of college offenses for a long time, though its adoption in the NFL has been very gradual. Still, it’s gaining in popularity now: in 2020, only two teams ran 100+ plays from the pistol, but last year saw eight teams do so.

Much of this trend has come from disciples of the Shanahan style of offense; Sean McVay’s Rams, the Packers and Panthers and Dolphins and Falcons. Colts head coach Shane Steichen incorporated the formation for both Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, and had success with both.

Last year, the Falcons used pistol formations on nearly 40% of their offensive snaps, leading the league. While Atlanta’s offense as a whole experienced big swings in production as they went from Kirk Cousins to rookie Michael Penix Jr. midway through the year, they finished the season ranked seventh in EPA/pass and 11th in EPA/rush when working out of the pistol.

Schottenheimer likely isn’t going to use as much pistol as Atlanta did, but there are significant benefits to having a healthy package of plays out of the look. It especially plays into Dak Prescott’s strengths, as the quarterback has always thrived on play-action and that concept becomes even more lethal in the pistol.

The Cowboys haven’t used pistol much over the years, so there’s not much meaningful data on Prescott working out of the formation. In fact, the 2019 season was the only time Prescott has ever had more than 30 plays out of the pistol. But in 2023, Schottenheimer’s first season as the offensive coordinator, Prescott posted a blistering 0.28% EPA/pass from pistol looks; it’s an incredibly small sample size, but the per play metric ranked fifth in the league.

Of course, that number is only likely to go down with more exposure to the formation, but it does backup the logic that Prescott would thrive with more pistol plays. It would also help open up more holes for the ground game, still providing the back with a downhill runway to build up momentum but also creating a shorter path to cross the line of scrimmage compared to shotgun plays.

It also provides more looks that defenses have to prepare for, and the more an offense can throw at the defense, the harder it is to stop them. Schottenheimer and Adams both understand the benefits of having a sizable pistol package, and an increased usage in the new offense could help Prescott return to his MVP-contending ways from the 2023 season.