When the Dallas Cowboys acquired Wide Receiver Amari Cooper midseason in 2018 it changed life for them offensively and they won seven of their final nine games. The next thing was to get Dak Prescott and second-year Wide Receiver Michael Gallup to develop more chemistry, as the two missed some big-play opportunities a year ago. Now after a full offseason, Prescott has both of these guys in rhythm as the Cowboys aerial assault has picked up steam. Most teams only have one receiver in their arsenal who can stretch the field, the Cowboys are fortunate to have two.
During OTAs and training camp Gallup took full advantage of his battles with Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, and Anthony Brown. The timing that was a little off a season ago was starting to take shape. Cooper was his usual unguardable self with his precise and disciplined route running. He would miss the final month of camp as he dealt with a plantar fasciitis issue but was ready to go when the season kicked off.
Cooper and Gallup took full advantage of their first test of the seaosn against the New York Giants. Prescott completed all seven passes he threw to Gallup as he set career highs in catches (7) and yards (158). For Cooper, it was just another day at the office as he had 6 receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. This helped Prescott pass for 405 yards which set a new franchise record for a Cowboys season opener.
Week 2 against the Washington Redskins wasn’t as flashy but it was still productive. Even though Cooper only had 44 yards and Gallup only had 68 himself, Prescott was 10 of 13 targeting the two which was good for 77%. You won’t see massive yardage every week in the NFL in the passing game but timing and chemistry are key and this game was an example of that.
Unfortunately, Gallup came out of the Redskins game with a slightly torn meniscus which kept him out for two games. This past Sunday against the Green Bay Packers he didn’t waste any time getting back into his groove, though, as he hauled in 7 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. Cooper would have his second-highest reception total in a game (11) and set a career-high in receiving yards (226) while also scoring his fifth touchdown of the season.
Dak Prescott has completed 21 of 28 (75%) when throwing to Cooper and 20 of 29 (69%) when throwing to Gallup in the three games they have all played in together this season. Having this kind of trust in multiple receivers is a quarterbacks dream come true. Going forward it will be interesting to see if this level of production keeps up with this pair, as both are on pace for 1,000-yard seasons. If so, the Cowboys will have one of the best duos at wide receiver in the league for the foreseeable future.
