Obvious theme from Cowboys' loss to Eagles should get Dallas fans excited about the season despite Week 1 setback

The Dallas Cowboys are 0-1 after wasting an opportunity to upset the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl banner party in the NFL Kickoff game. There's no sugarcoating it. They had a chance to spoil the big night for their division rival, and they blew it.

Cowboys fans should be mad at CeeDee Lamb's drops, Miles Sanders' fumble, and the defense's performance in the first half. They should be tired of the Cowboys being close to winning games like this but falling short in the end.

Yet, I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about what we saw from the Cowboys' offense on Thursday. Let's break it down.

Dak Prescott looked sharp in Week 1

Prior to the game, I wrote about how the Cowboys need to bet on the passing game if they wanted to exceed expectations this season. We saw evidence of that on Thursday. Prescott was sharp, maneuvering the pocket while escaping pressure and throwing dots all over the field. Had it not been for multiple drops from Lamb and a couple more from others, his completion percentage would've been near the 70% mark.

Prescott attacked the Eagles' secondary mostly through Lamb as the two of them showed flashes of what they looked like in 2023, when the Cowboys quarterback finished second in MVP voting. We could be about to see much more of that. And that's before George Pickens even takes off.

Brian Schottenheimer's rushing offense was refreshing

But passing wasn't the only thing that excited me about the Cowboys' offense. The run game was revamped by Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams (formerly the OL coach for the Arizona Cardinals), who is bringing a key aspect of the Cardinals' DNA with him: Pulling blockers. The Cowboys used plenty of gap concepts, like power and counter on Thursday and were successful.

Sanders' 49-yard gain, for example, was the result of a great block from Tyler Smith on a defensive back. Terence Steele also does a great job climbing from the backside to the second level and blocking the playside safety.