Mike McCarthy offers Year 2 assessment of Kellen Moore as Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has been Mike McCarthy’s right-hand man for two seasons since he arrived in Dallas from his long tenure with Green Bay. Ahead of the Cowboys’ final two games of the regular season, McCarthy assessed the growth he’s seen from Moore since opting to keep him on staff in 2020.

“I think Kellen’s clearly a different play-caller than he was two seasons ago and I think it’s all part of the complementary football and what we’re trying to emphasize as a football team,” McCarthy said on Tuesday ahead of the Tennessee matchup in Nashville.

“I think the way the playcalling on both the offense and the defense is definitely more complimentary. It really shows with Kellen. He’s committed to the run game and he’s definitely grown in that area. I think he’s having a heck of a year.”

Asked about the offense’s success in the red zone, which has improved from touchdowns on 63% of red zone trips in 2021 to 70.5% this season, McCarthy again credited the balance between the Dallas run and pass game.

“Just like anything, the basis of our production is really, it goes back to the complementary football formula,” McCarthy said. “The run game, our success running the football brings stabilization to the offense. It carries over to the protection and makes the job a little easier for the perimeter, in particular in the red zone. We’re not going down there and slinging it all over the yard. The ability to maintain some level of balance has been key for us.”

McCarthy, Cowboys prepare for TNF road game versus Titans

The Cowboys head into a Thursday night game versus a Tennessee Titans team on a major skid. Despite five straight losses, the Titans still control their fate for the postseason. Headed for a rubber match versus the Jaguars in Week 18, a win or loss versus Dallas changes little for Tennessee’s playoff chances.

Unless Philadelphia losses, little would change with a win for Dallas on Thursday, but Mike McCarthy has made it clear they aren’t entering preseason mode.

Players echoed their head coach’s sentiments as they returned to work after the victory over the Eagles on Saturday.

“I don’t really pay attention to much of what they’ve got going on,” Zeke Elliott said on Tuesday. “That’s nothing to do with me. We wanna win. We gotta go win this football game. We’re trying to build momentum for the playoffs.”

Dallas is a 10-point favorite in Vegas heading into the penultimate game of the season. According to the ESPN matchup predictor, the Cowboys have an 88.2% chance at victory versus their 7-8 opponents.