Mike McCarthy answered Dallas Cowboys' fans prayers in the team's last-second win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After calling a stagnant and unimaginative offense in the first four games, McCarthy finally incorporated shift and motion into his play-calling.
While the Cowboys only put up 20 points on the scoreboard thanks to some costly red zone turnovers, Dak Prescott and Co. had their most impressive outing of the season. Prescott threw for 352 yards and Rico Dowdle had the most prolific rushing game of his career.
That shouldn't come as a surprise being that Dallas had a 64.5% shift/ motion rate, per Pro Football Focus. With that said, the offense's big night boiled down to more than just McCarthy waking up and smelling the coffee.
The Steelers bracketed CeeDee Lamb all game, which created space for the team's other pass-catchers, namely Jalen Tolbert and Jake Ferguson. However, there was a noticeable difference in Dallas' ability to create explosive plays. That can be attributed to one player's presence.
Cowboys need to start KaVontae Turpin over Brandin Cooks at WR
Whenever Prescott has targeted Cooks this season, it has felt like every pass has been in tight coverage due to Cooks' inability to create separation. Cooks has produced a 79.1 passer rating when targeted, per PFF. That is ninth out of 12 qualified Dallas pass-catchers. Only Ezekiel Elliott, Brevyn Spann-Ford and Jalen Brooks are responsible for a lower passer rating.
Turpin is noticeably more explosive than Cooks and McCarthy is finally figuring out how to incorporate him into the offense beyond just gadget plays. Turpin's 128.9 passer rating when targeted is second-highest on the team and highest among Cowboys receivers.
The third-year pro caught four passes for 50 yards against the Steelers. That included a 35-yard catch on a seam route (Prescott's favorite route) on a huge 3rd-and-5 with Dallas trailing 10-6 in the third quarter. The drive ended in a blocked field goal, but Turpin's catch was a huge play in the moment.
Cooks is supposed to be a speed guy that brings explosiveness to the offense. Turpin's role has been inconsistent week-to-week, but he's actually brought juice. He displayed it in Week 3 against the Ravens when he caught three passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.
As long McCarthy doesn't shoehorn Turpin into a gadget role, opposing defenses will have to account for a variety of routes out of the slot on top of a potential jet sweep, screen pass or other exotic play. They'll have to respect him.
Cooks is an accomplished player in the league, but he doesn't scare anyone right now. We're not saying that Cooks should be outright benched once he returns from injury, but Turpin playing meaningful snaps is the best thing for Prescott and the offense.
