The Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) were fresh off their best offensive performance of 2025 under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer in Week 7, and they had plenty to celebrate after a 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders.
Quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover on 21-of-30 passing. Running back Javonte Williams ran for 116 yards and a score on 19 carries. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb totaled 110 yards and a touchdown on five catches, fellow wideout George Pickens added 82 yards on four receptions, and tight end Jake Ferguson caught two touchdowns.
Through seven weeks, Dallas leads the NFL in total offense (390.6 yards per game) and ranks second in scoring (31.7 points). Naturally, Schottenheimer was asked postgame about how potent the offense looked with all its playmakers healthy — but his mind went elsewhere: how he can be a better play-caller for Prescott.
“Dak’s playing really well. You know, I’m not trying to not make a big deal about [how] he’s playing great, but that’s what we expect from Dak, and he’s got incredible weapons. … You see the trust that he has in these guys,” Schottenheimer said Sunday. “He got hit a lot today, and I didn’t like that, and he didn’t like that. Probably needed to get him a few more completions midway through the second quarter, because he was getting popped pretty good. I think I got a little bit aggressive. I was getting pissed with the penalties and [focused] on too many deep shots, and that’s on me. I told him that, and I said, ‘Hey, I’ll be better,’ and that’s what we did.”
Prescott’s 3% sack rate is the second-lowest in the NFL, but he was hit four times Sunday — tied for the third-most he’s absorbed in a game this season. That had Prescott a little hot, but the two talked it out during the game, helping him shake off the bigger hits on longer-developing plays and lock in for the rest of the afternoon.
Accountability fueling rare consistency
Schottenheimer’s willingness to take accountability — both publicly and directly to his quarterback — has gone a long way. Prescott has thrown at least three touchdowns without an interception in each of his last four games, tied for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. The only longer stretch belongs to Russell Wilson (five games in 2015). Prescott now shares company with Drew Brees (2019), Aaron Rodgers (2014), Peyton Manning (2013-14), Tom Brady (2007) and Wilson.
“Yeah, I appreciate that accountability, and honestly, that’s just being a good coach,” Prescott said Thursday. “That’s being a good reader and kind of gauging the temperature, I guess you could say. My temperature at times maybe isn’t always right. Maybe I just got a little upset over this or that, and that’s just being an elite coach and knowing your players.
“And whether it is his fault, when he’s taking accountability, what he’s saying is, ‘Hey, you’re not doing this by yourself. Relax. I’ve got you. We’ve got you.’ I had a little moment in this past game, and that’s exactly what he did. I appreciate it most definitely.”
Their trust didn’t form overnight. Schottenheimer joined the Cowboys in 2022 as a consultant, working mostly with then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. When Kellen Moore departed for the Chargers in 2023, then-head coach Mike McCarthy took over play-calling and elevated Schottenheimer to offensive coordinator — the moment his relationship with Prescott truly began to grow.
“I think I was able to show more of my true personality to Dak, and he showed his as well. That’s part of building relationships. We still laugh and butt heads at times,” Schottenheimer said. “Like I said, I called a bunch of shots last game, and he’s getting the shit knocked out of him. He’s like, ‘Really?’ So we can have those disagreements, but it’s been more so the last two years as coordinator than the years before.”
The Prescott-Schottenheimer partnership has the Dallas quarterback climbing the 2025 NFL MVP odds leaderboard, sitting at +2200 on FanDuel Sportsbook (tied for seventh-best).
Prescott was the 2023 NFL MVP runner-up in his last fully healthy season in 2023 when he led the league with 36 passing touchdowns. This year, he ranks among the league’s top five in nearly every key category:
- Passing touchdowns: 16 (second)
- Completion percentage: 71.4 (fourth)
- Completions: 185 (first)
- Explosive passes (25-plus yards): 19 (first)
- EPA per play: 0.26 (second)
“I think you nailed it right there saying ‘partnership,'” Prescott said. “Just the communication throughout the week of why this play’s going in and what we’re looking for to how we’re trying to attack them. From every level. Why this protection is in. Why this run game is in. What’s this run plan? [Schottenheimer] just allows you to go out there and truly know the why. “When you do that, it just makes you feel better. You feel better about throwing the ball away, playing clean football and understand, ‘Hey, they got the best on that one. Let’s move forward.’ Just great communication.”
CeeDee Lamb adds another voice to the offensive dialogue
That open and direct line of communication isn’t just reserved for Prescott. Lamb has also developed an appreciation for his head coach’s openness to listening to his suggestions. Schottenheimer certainly doesn’t mind dialing up shot plays to Lamb like he did on No. 88’s 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown Sunday against the Commanders.
“As for Schotty, you give us an opp[ortunity], I’m pretty sure he’s going to take it. We talk a lot on the sideline and just kind of give him our eyes because sometimes he can’t see what we see. So shout out to him for that and just being open to us and understanding we have a different POV than maybe the quarterback because he has the D-line in front of him. Just us seeing how things play out, it’s amazing. Shout out [to] Schotty for trusting in us.”
Lamb said he’s learned how to communicate more productively with his head coach, which he feels has only helped strengthen their connection.
“Being able to communicate, and I feel like there’s a way to communicate professionally and not really just getting mad at the simple fact that you’re not getting the target that you want. Or the game is not going your way. But as far as getting your message to him, just going up and having a talk. ‘Hey, they’re playing cloud [coverage] here, or on this down, they’re doing this. Guys have tendencies. You just expose those tendencies.”
So what do those sideline conversations between Prescott, Lamb and Schottenheimer sound like? Here’s a peek behind the proverbial curtain.
“Shout out honestly to Schotty for listening, and not only just listening but asking those guys, ‘Hey, bring me what you see. Bring me what you feel. We’ll make adjustments and we’ll attack that,'” Prescott said. “We have in multiple games. For CeeDee, it’s experience. It’s experience, and it’s confidence in your own game and understanding you’ve seen all these different looks, they’re only going to play you so many ways. So when you get in that, to be able to tell the coordinator confidently, ‘Hey, this is what’s happening if you give me this route.’ Or maybe, ‘Hey, maybe if you give GP [George Pickens] or the tight end this route because of the way they’re playing me, I think it will work.’
“There’s as many adjustments happening on the sideline or things at least being discussed and put in motion than ever before. That’s credit to CeeDee. That’s credit to really all of the receivers, them having confidence in what they’re saying. I’m sure it comes from their film study and them feeling it.”
Next test: The Broncos’ dominant defense
The Cowboys’ offensive flow state will be challenged tremendously at the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos (5-2) and their stout defense. Denver ranks in the top five in nearly every key category:
- Scoring defense: 18.1 points per game (fourth)
- Total defense: 273.1 yards per game (third)
- Third-down defense: 29.2% conversion rate (first)
- QB pressure rate: 44.9% (first)
- Sacks: 34 (first)
- Completion percentage allowed: 55.9% (first)
The Broncos’ stars include reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II and Pro Bowl edge rusher Nik Bonitto, whose eight sacks rank third in the NFL.
“It’s what you play the game for. Regardless if we [Dallas’ offense and Denver’s defense] were both first or not, it’s what you play the game for — elite competition,” Prescott said. “An amazing environment where the fans are going to be loud. Our communication is going to be tested, the nonverbal part of it. Yeah, super excited. It’ll be a great one.”
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