ARLINGTON, Texas -- It’s blasphemous to think it, let alone say it. But the Dallas Cowboys’ offense is so good these days that comparing it to The Triplets’ offense led by Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith seems like the right thing to do.
Especially since the Cowboys have the NFL’s best record -- proof a higher power exists, right -- and its best offense.
It all starts with DeMarco Murray, who broke Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record with his seventh straight 100-yard game to start the season and finished with 128 yards on 28 carries.
Tony Romo completed 17 of 23 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns and Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 151 yards. Those are the kind of days Aikman, Irvin and Smith seemingly had all of the time during the glory days of the 1990s.
Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar, who caught two touchdown passes Sunday, certainly give this offense everything tight end Jay Novacek gave those offenses whether it’s converting third downs or attacking the seam.
Terrance Williams, who scored his sixth touchdown with a leaping 18-yard catch, is doing a pretty good imitation of Alvin Harper's big-play production. Cole Beasley and Dwayne Harris provide play-making from the slot the way Kelvin Martin did.
And they do it behind an offensive line that dominates the line of scrimmage each week.
“Obviously, DeMarco is at the highest level of his position and Dez is at the highest level of his position,” Romo said, “but I’d be hard-pressed to name a lot more players who are playing better than Jason Witten, Cole, Terrance and the guys up front.
“We’re just a balanced team that can get the ball to a lot of different people, and it’s just hard on teams to figure out what they’re going to take away. It’s my job to figure out what they’re doing and find the guy who’s going to be in position.”
The Cowboys’ offense is even good enough to compensate for a scrappy, hard-playing defense that remains suspect because it can’t rush the passer. They barely touched Eli Manning in 33 pass attempts.
Dallas also kept the ball for 33:49 Sunday, the fourth consecutive time it has had the ball for more than 33 minutes, something the Cowboys hadn’t accomplished since 1980. All that time of possession keeps the defense rested and off the field, where they can’t be exposed.
All of this is why the Cowboys have the NFL’s best offense.
Yes, the Cowboys’ offense is better than Peyton Manning's show in Denver. It’s better than Andrew Luck's offense in Indianapolis. It’s better than Drew Brees' offense in New Orleans or Aaron Rodgers’ offense in Green Bay.
It’s better because the Cowboys can run the ball, something each of those other teams struggles to do, while still throwing it nearly as well as each of those other clubs.
The Cowboys’ offense will function on the road and in domes. It works in frigid weather, a monsoon or under a blazing sun. The Cowboys had 400 yards of offense Sunday for the fourth consecutive game, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 1976.
Heck, the Cowboys’ offense is so good it even made New York coach Tom Coughlin panic.
After the Cowboys took a 7-0 first-quarter lead, Coughlin wanted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the New York 46 on the Giants’ next possession because he feared his team would trail by two touchdowns the next time they touched the ball.
A procedure penalty forced the Giants to kick, but he went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Dallas 38 in the second quarter for the same reason and it led to a touchdown.
The Giants pulled within 28-21 on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham with 5:28 left.
Well, the Giants didn’t get the ball again until 59 seconds remained and the lead had been stretched to 10 on a 49-yard field goal by Dan Bailey. That’s exactly how the Cowboys used to win games in the '90s.
“We don’t like to compare things,” said Garrett, when asked about The Triplets. “Those are some of the best teams in the history of the National Football League.
“That was a good formula for playing winning football back then -- being able to run the ball and spread it around to everybody. That’s certainly an objective of ours.”
Garrett played for those championship teams in the '90s, and he has built this team in their image.
And a new collection of Triplets has made the Cowboys contenders.