When you see the Dallas Cowboys’ offense on film from last week’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and how well quarterback Dak Prescott played, it’s clear why he’ll remain the starter.

Dallas’ offense does a lot of things well, and you could see that the Steelers knew that going in. Their defensive coordinator Keith Butler was very multiple and aggressive with his fronts, pressures and coverages – he knew he couldn’t just line up and play against this Cowboys offense. And it still didn’t work.

The 50-yard touchdown to Dez Bryant late in the third quarter illustrates what Prescott is doing so well. The Steelers used triple “A” gap (the gap on either side of the center) with man coverage behind it. Rookie Artie Burns was matched on Bryant. Prescott had outstanding pocket movement to avoid Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, then reset to deliver the deep ball to Bryant late in the down.

That’s not just a good play for a rookie quarterback, it’s impressive for any quarterback.

Prescott was sharp from the beginning. On the second play of the game, he had a great back-shoulder throw to Bryant for 19 yards. Let’s take a look at it from the end zone angle, because I want you to pay attention to running back Ezekiel Elliott. He has an excellent block on blitzing linebacker Lawrence Timmons. That makes the play possible. Prescott has a clean pocket to make an accurate throw.

Later, Prescott made a nice anticipation throw to Bryant. From an empty set, the Steelers brought triple “A” gap pressure and expected pressure to speed up Prescott. You can tell they were hoping Prescott made a quick mistake because they matched linebacker James Harrison on slot receiver Cole Beasley and linebacker Arthur Moats on tight end Jason Witten. There was a slant-flat concept with Bryant and Beasley, Prescott read the blitz and immediately knew where to go with the ball. Bryant gained 12 yards on third-and-7. Again, this is good stuff from any quarterback, but especially a rookie.

One of the Cowboys’ biggest plays was a great design. The Cowboys used “11” personnel (one back, one tight end) with multiple backfield actions. There was a split zone run with Witten crossing the formation and Lucky Whitehead on a reverse action. Out of that, the Cowboys ended up with a screen to Elliott with three offensive linemen in front of him. The Steelers defense was compromised by backfield actions. You can see how the field opened up due to the defense’s confusion on the run action in the backfield. Elliott got an 83-yard touchdown off a wonderfully designed play.

Elliott has obviously been impressive too. One key trait he has is his ability to press the hole and move second-level defenders. He’s also excellent at hugging double-team blocks in front of him – those are the most secure blocks. He has excellent vision and patience, no wasted motion and he’s deceptively strong with a powerful lower body.

Elliott’s 32-yard touchdown to win the game didn’t have a high degree of difficulty for him because the Steelers’ blitz got picked up so well. Timmons attacked the “A” gap, defensive back Sean Davis blitzed from the field, so when Elliott cleared the first level of the defense there was nobody there.

The Cowboys have a lot of good things going for their offense. Prescott has played well. Elliott has shown a lot of fantastic traits for a foundation back. The offensive line is strong. Bryant is tough to defend. There’s good reason the Cowboys are 8-1.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.