The Cowboys offense is so dynamic it doesn’t even need its star receivers to dominate

The Cowboys don’t need monster performances from their receiving corps to put up big numbers. That should scare the rest of the league.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Amari Cooper hauled in a mesmerizing 13 catches for 139 yards and two scores. Fantasy owners across the country salivated at what a now unquestionably elite Dak Prescott, with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb at his disposal. could be capable of.

The following week, in a 20-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the leading receiver was CeeDee Lamb with eight catches for 81 yards. On Monday Night Football, Lamb and Cooper each snagged three catches in a 41-21 Cowboy win. Then this past week, Dallas moved to 3-1 behind a 36-28 handling of the Carolina Panthers that saw the pair combined for five catches and 82 yards.

Sure, Cooper is banged up with cracked ribs and a hamstring strain, but to move to 3-1 with back-to-back wins against the Eagles and Panthers when CeeDee Lamb is totaling just five catches for 79 yards? That’s scary.

While the opener showed Dak Prescott and the offense can find tremendous success slinging the ball all around the field when forced into that gameplan, the subsequent three-game winning streak showed the value of a balanced attack led by a reinvigorated Ezekiel Elliott and a finally-utilized Tony Pollard.

If anything, the biggest beneficiaries of the star-studded receiving corps have been the tight ends, Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin, who have logged 29 total receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns. The attention paid to keeping Lamb and Cooper contained, and helping out against the run, is allowing for ample space in which the duo can operate. This has been especially true in the redzone, with Schultz logging a pair of scores against the Eagles on Monday Night and Jarwin nabbing his first of the year on Sunday against the Panthers.

You can pick your poison against this Cowboys offense because, while it may not be at full strength on either side of the ball yet, it has the stout offensive line to keep its quarterback clean and then mercilessly bully opponents who try to step in Elliott or Pollard’s way. If you’re willing to sell out against the run, Cooper and Lamb are ready to strike at a moment’s notice—and don’t forget the deep ball threat Michael Gallup brings to the table, either.

The Cowboys are averaging 31.5 points on the year and 32.3 points during this three-game win streak. To put forth that kind of production as your two star receivers are averaging 53.3 yards per game (Lamb) and 39.7 yards per game (Cooper) over that stretch is incredible.

With the offensive line dominating once more, and both Elliott and Pollard ranking in the top 20 in rushing on the year, Dallas is not only maintaining balance but exploiting opposing defenses from every angle in the process. That should terrify the league at large, or at the very least anyone on the Cowboys’ remaining schedule. Because you might be able to slow down Lamb and Cooper, or you might be able to stifle Zeke and Pollard, but you can’t bottle them all up for 60 minutes —especially not when Dallas’s tight ends are contributing so significantly in the resulting void.

This offense is balanced and dangerous at every level. Try to stop it if you can; survive if it lets you.