Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy says he and his former offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, don’t always have the same vision for what an offense should do.

McCarthy says Moore wants to score points, but McCarthy thinks the Cowboys need to run the ball to win, even if that means scoring less.

“I’ve been where Kellen’s been,” McCarthy said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “Kellen wants to light the scoreboard up, but I want him to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense. I think when you’re a coordinator, you know but you’re in charge of the offense. Being a head coach and being a play caller, you’re a little more in tune with (everything). I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with the number of wins and a championship. And if we’ve got to give up some production and take care of the ball a little better to get that, then that’s what we’ll do because we have a really good defense.”

But if McCarthy wants to keep his defense off the field, the best way to do that is for his offense to gain first downs. And the Cowboys’ offense was more efficient when passing the ball than when running the ball last season, as is usually the case with NFL offenses after decades of rules and strategy changes have benefited the passing game. If McCarthy insists on running the ball more in 2023, that may result both in fewer points on the scoreboard and in fewer wins.

Mike McCarthy: Kellen Moore wants to light the scoreboard up, I want to run the damn ball originally appeared on Pro Football Talk