‘Shifts And Motions’: Brian Schottenheimer Explains Dallas Cowboys’ Drop In Pre-Snap Movement And Big Plays

FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that the Dallas Cowboys still believe in pre-snap shifts and motion, and that playing from behind is part of why the offense has used less of it this season.

Dallas ranked 11th in the NFL in motion usage last season and sits 30th this season, according to figures cited during Schottenheimer’s news conference before Wednesday’s practice. The Cowboys are 3-5 after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Situations where Dallas is playing from behind are one reason the motion has not shown up.

“We certainly have them in,” Schottenheimer said. “I think without having the list in front of me, we believe in moving and shifting and motioning and things like that. I think sometimes you don’t do it when you’re in certain situations playing from behind. That’s part of it. But we certainly have them. I’ve always been a guy that believes in that.”

“But to tell you why they haven’t shown up is different reasons. Again, a couple games we’ve had to play from behind, so you’re not going to move because you’re trying to speed up the game,” Schottenheimer continued. “And then sometimes you do cloud the picture and so we have different reasons based off the multiple things that we see going in the game plan. But make no mistakes about it. We do believe in shifts and motions.”

Schottenheimer was Dallas’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024 before becoming head coach in 2025. The Cowboys led the NFL in scoring in 2023.

Brian Schottenheimer Says Pass Interference Hides Big Plays

On big plays, Schottenheimer said the offense is not at the standard it is capable of, though some of them never reach the box score.

“When you talk about big plays, there’s a lot of different ways to look at it. The ones that don’t go into the books are the PIs,” Schottenheimer explained. “We hit George, he gets called back for a penalty. George got a big PI penalty. Ryan Flournoy had a big PI penalty.”

“But we’re not to the standard that we’re capable of and those are answers that we’re looking for,” Schottenheimer added. “But again, just because you don’t hit a big play when you get… I think we lead the league in most PI penalties against our guys because they’re so good at it. Those yards don’t show up in the stat book, but they certainly affect field position and allow you to move the ball and score the way we do.”

Against Arizona, a 23-yard pass interference penalty and a 37-yard catch by George Pickens set Dallas up at the Cardinals’ 2-yard line before Dak Prescott’s 5-yard touchdown run. A 35-yard catch by Pickens earlier in the second half was erased by an offensive holding penalty. Ryan Flournoy has more than 300 receiving yards this season.

Schottenheimer Wants George Pickens Moved Around Earlier

Motion and alignment are also part of the plan for Pickens, who caught two of four targets for 48 yards Sunday. The staff has talked about slot snaps and motion for him since training camp.

“It has some. When we move him, it doesn’t mean he’s always going to get the ball,” Schottenheimer said. “But it’s certainly something that we’d like to get done earlier in games, get him off to a good start.”

Pickens was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a hamstring injury. The Cowboys visit the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, with kickoff set for noon CT on FOX.