Cowboys Country

'Kellen Moore is the Smartest Coach in the Room': Can Cowboys Offense Explode vs. 49ers in Playoffs?

Locked On Cowboys: Cowboys move up to No. 3 seed in NFC, beat Eagles in Week 18

Jeremy Brener

For the first time in his NFL career, Dak Prescott threw for five touchdowns in the Dallas Cowboys' 51-26 win over the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend.

The team needed that offensive spark after a suboptimal performance against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17 that ultimately prevented the Cowboys from qualifying for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

In Saturday night's game, the Cowboys' 475 yards of total offense helped reclaim the title of the No. 1 offense in the league over the course of the season.

But will that regular-season success translate into the playoffs? It will if offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has anything to say about it.

Moore spoke to the media on Monday and praised 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, saying, "You'd be dumb not to watch their stuff. They're always on the cutting edge."

But - and meaning no disrespect to Shanahan - one NFL source with knowledge of both the Cowboys and the 49ers tells us, "Kellen Moore is the smartest coach in the room.''

In other words, as the Cowboys face off against far better talent in the San Francisco 49ers' defense than they did against the Eagles, who sat multiple starters, they won't lose because they aren't smart enough.

They might lose because San Francisco is just that good.

The Niners finished the season as the No. 3 defense in the league behind the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers.

If the Cowboys want to win in the playoffs, multiple players will have to step up and make plays. That includes usual suspects Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, as well as Week 18 stars Dalton Schultz and Cedrick Wilson.

The Cowboys have tremendous faith in the idea that Kellen Moore, at 33 a candidate to leave Dallas and become an NFL head coach this offseason - will put those players in position to do so.

In this episode of the "Locked On Cowboys" Podcast, host Marcus Mosher and Landon McCool discuss the Cowboys moving up to the No. 3 seed in the NFC after their Week 18 win over the Eagles.

They talk about that performance and the team's upcoming playoff matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

Marcus and Landon deal with all that more on this episode of "Locked On Cowboys." Join us here!

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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