‘Never Going To Apologize’: Brian Schottenheimer Defends Dallas Cowboys’ Balanced Offense, Points To Run Game Fixes
FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that he will never apologize for wanting the Dallas Cowboys to be balanced on offense, three days after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals dropped Dallas to 3-5.
Complementary football is how teams win in the league, in Schottenheimer’s view, and the roster gives Dallas reason to stay balanced.
“I think at the end of the day, complementary football is how you win in this league,” Schottenheimer said. “I’m never going to apologize for trying to be balanced. That’s what we want to be. Dak Prescott’s an MVP caliber player. We’ve got weapons. We’ve got good running backs.”
“But at the end of the day, balance is real in football,” Schottenheimer continued. “And so whether it’s you win the game by scoring enough points, running or throwing, it doesn’t matter to us. We want to be balanced because that makes us the most difficult to defend.”
Dak Prescott finished second in NFL MVP voting in 2023, Schottenheimer’s first season as Dallas’ offensive coordinator, when the Cowboys led the league in scoring. Against Arizona, Prescott completed 19 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions, and he ran for a touchdown.
Brian Schottenheimer Says Run Game Took A Step Against Philadelphia
Finding that balance week to week comes back to execution, the play calls, and the way the team practices and meets.
“It comes down to execution. It comes down to looking at the play calls. It comes down to looking at the way we’re practicing, the way we’re having our meetings, and trying to find that edge to clean it up,” Schottenheimer explained.
Javonte Williams carried 25 times in Dallas’ Week 7 win at the Philadelphia Eagles and 24 times against Arizona. Combination blocks and run fits are where the work is this week, Schottenheimer said.
“A couple weeks ago, we certainly weren’t running the ball very well or consistently enough. I think we took a big step forward against Philadelphia. And then of course we didn’t perform very, very well with that,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve talked a lot about blocking movement and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I think it’s just us continue to work hard on the combination blocks and the fits and all those things.”
“And in terms of the pressure that we’re giving up, it’s been inconsistent to say the least. There’s been some games we’ve come out of, it’s been really, really good,” Schottenheimer added. “But when you get into pass happy games, which we’ve had to do in some of these, it’s hard to drop back and throw it that many times and keep the quarterback perfectly clean.”
Cooper Beebe Calls Run Game The Frustration
Pass protection belongs to more than the offensive line for Schottenheimer, who included himself and the rest of the coaching staff.
“Everyone’s involved in pass protection. It’s not just the offensive line that gets talked about,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s the receivers jumping out of their shoes. It’s the tight ends being on their hots. It’s the backs picking up blitzes, things like that. It’s the coaches and myself with play calls and protection answers or solutions. Everyone’s always been involved in pass protection, not just one player or one unit.”
Center Cooper Beebe, a third-round pick in 2024 out of Kansas State, pointed to the run game as the most disappointing part of the season so far, with plenty of games left.
“I wouldn’t say that. I think the biggest thing is what’s disappointing for us is just how the run game, especially with the dudes in our room, just haven’t been where we’ve been,” Beebe said. “Still plenty of games left. But yeah, it’s definitely been frustrating, especially with the guys in this room, just the way we’ve ran the ball this year.”
Left guard Tyler Smith was limited in Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. The Indianapolis Colts have allowed 1,054 rushing yards this season, fourth-most in the NFL, and host Dallas on Sunday at noon CT on FOX.
