National Football League

Cowboys' offensive blueprint coming to fruition

Published Jan. 11, 2010 7:25 p.m. ET

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The last time the Dallas Cowboys had a playoff winner, their offense was built around Troy Aikman either handing off to Emmitt Smith or throwing to Michael Irvin.

These days, Tony Romo has a lot more options.

Handoffs might go to Marion Barber, Felix Jones or Tashard Choice. Sometimes, Choice will take a snap himself.

When Romo drops back, he's probably looking for Miles Austin or Jason Witten. But he also might throw to Patrick Crayton or Roy Williams. Or to one of those running backs.

Or maybe he'll really mix things up and throw to third-string tight end John Phillips, like he did for the Cowboys' first touchdown in their playoff-skid-busting victory over Philadelphia on Saturday night.

``When you get guys involved like that, anything can happen,'' receivers coach Ray Sherman said Monday.

The Cowboys are rolling into the second round of the playoffs for a variety of reasons. The versatility of their offense is among the biggest.

The last four weeks, Romo has put together an early go-ahead touchdown drive, then built on it pretty quickly. It's a combination of having a lot of capable players and understanding how to use them.

Want proof?

During their winning streak, the Cowboys have scored 12 touchdowns - six running, six receiving. They've been scored by all three running backs (Barber 3, Jones 2, Choice 1; a breakdown that also reflects how the carries have been distributed) and from five pass catchers (Austin 2 and 1 each from Witten, Crayton, Williams and Phillips).

``A lot of guys can participate and a lot of guys can play their role and a lot of guys can come through for you,'' coach Wade Phillips said. ``That makes a difference.''

Dallas came into this season determined to have an offense able to excel on the ground or in the air. Sure enough, both units ranked among the top 10 in the NFL - sixth in yards passing and seventh in yards rushing.

The Cowboys' overall total of 399.4 yards per game was second to New Orleans, which also happened to be the only other team among the top 10 in both passing and rushing.

The Saints were so good at their one-two punch that they won their first 13 games and grabbed the NFC's No. 1 seed. Clearly, coach Sean Payton had things figured out from the start.

That wasn't the case in Dallas.

The Cowboys threw it great in the opener, then became a running team, putting up consecutive games with more than 200 yards for the first time since 1979. Alas, Jones got hurt and the running game wasn't the same. But then Austin filled in for an injured Williams and in his first career start had a team-record 250 yards receiving, then 171 the next week.

Slowly but surely, Romo and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett were figuring things out.

After all, the key contributors were here all along. It just took most of the season to figure out who can do what, and when to ask them to do it.

Finally, the riddle has been solved. Just in time, too.

Actually, considering how other teams with great offenses started strong and fizzled late (like New Orleans and Minnesota), it could be argued that another layer to Dallas' recent success is that defenses haven't caught up to their new formula. The Vikings will get their chance on Sunday, in the Metrodome.

``It's problematic when all of the sudden you see Patrick Crayton catching balls on third down, then you see Tashard Choice getting a first down, then you see Roy,'' Romo said. ``It's tough, and that's part of what you try to do as an offense.

``If people want to double Jason or Miles, we just kind of read the defense. We don't say 'I'm throwing it to Miles on this play.' It's allowed us to execute week in and week out.''

Romo's willingness to trust a variety of players helps, too.

He threw to nine guys in the first half against the Eagles on Saturday night. For the season, the Cowboys had 12 players catch passes, with eight catching at least 15 (which is nearly one per game).

Keeping everyone involved isn't only a great way to confuse a defense. It's also a great way to build harmony on offense.

``When you have everybody involved, you see the difference,'' Sherman said. ``It's not just about one guy. It's everybody. Team effort.''

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