Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys pay homage to Tom Landry during end of win over Jets

FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys' offense made a subtle yet significant gesture during the end of Sunday's win over the New York Jets. 

On the game's final play, the Cowboys' offensive players stood up in unison before getting back in their proper stance before Dak Prescott's kneel down that finished off Dallas' second win of the 2025 season. 

For Cowboys fans of a certain age, seeing that likely took them right back to the 1970s, when Tom Landry instructed his offensive line to do the "Landry Shift" prior to the snap in an effort to temporarily disrupt the opposing defense's focus and view of Dallas' backfield. 

A day after Dallas' 37-22 win, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that his offense was indeed paying homage to Landry, a Hall of Fame coach who guided the Cowboys to the franchise's first two Super Bowl wins. 

"I see the pictures every day walking out of my office," Schottenheimer said.  "Literally, there's a cool picture outside my office of Tom Landry on a chalkboard with Roger Staubach. ... That's something that's been around here for a while. All when I took over, it's certainly something we're going to keep because of the tradition. And I'm kind of a dork when it comes to tradition and things like that." 

Schottenheimer said the offense ends each Saturday practice by running the "Landry Shift." While he said it took a while for his offensive line to figure it out, they must have done it well enough during this past Saturday's practice for Schottenheimer to feel good enough to have his offense do it at the end of Sunday's win. The head coach singled out fill-in center Brock Hoffman as the player who caused Dallas to "reload" or redo the practice reps of the "Landry Shift" to make sure they had it right for Sunday with four different offensive line starters because of injuries.

"We're the Dallas Cowboys," Schottenheimer said. "I remember those days, and I remember watching pro football and seeing him do it, so it's pretty cool." 

An offensive-minded coach, Schottenheimer obviously appreciates the impact Landry's innovative offense had on the NFL. The "Landry Shift" was just one tactic Landry's offense used during a time when pre snap motion was pretty much unheard of. 

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Landry's offense used a plethora of pre snap motion and was also one of the first offenses to employ the shotgun on a regular basis. All of this, coupled with having some of the best offensive players in NFL history, resulted in the Cowboys having one of the NFL's best offenses for a significant portion of Landry's time as coach. 

Here's a sampling of some of the damage Landry's offenses did against some legendary NFL defenses: 

• 1966 NFL Championship: Scored 27 points and racked up 418 yards against a Vince Lombardi-led Packers defense that featured six future Hall of Fame players. 
• Super Bowl VI: Ran for a then-Super Bowl record 252 yards against the Dolphins' famed "No Name" defense. Roger Staubach also threw two touchdowns en route to being named the game's MVP. 
• Super Bowl XII: Scored 27 points against the Broncos' "Orange Crush" defense that included the first touchdown pass in Super Bowl history that was thrown by a non-quarterback. The touchdown pass, thrown by Cowboys running back Robert Newhouse to wideout Golden Richards, sealed Dallas' 27-10 win. 
• Super Bowl XIII: Scored 31 points -- including 14 in the game's final minutes -- against Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" defense that featured five future Hall of Fame players. In both Super Bowl losses to the Steelers, the Cowboys' offense became the only unit to score a first quarter touchdown that season against Pittsburgh's defense. 

In some ways, Dallas' current offense is reminiscent of Landry's offenses during its heyday. 

Like Staubach and Don Meredith before him, Prescott is a poised, confident and accurate passer who can beat a defense in a multitude of ways. Similar to Staubach, who had the luxury of throwing to Drew Pearson and other talented receivers during his career, Prescott also had multiple playmakers at his disposal in CeeDee Lamb (when healthy) and newcomer George Pickens. However, he's had to make do without Lamb (ankle sprain) the last couple of weeks. 

While Lamb has carried on Pearson's tradition of great Cowboys wideouts who have worn No. 88, running back Javonte Williams is donning the same No. 33 that Tony Dorsett and Duane Thomas made synonymous with Cowboys running backs in the 1970s. A former Bronco, Williams has worn the number well during his first season in Dallas as he is currently third in the NFL in rushing. 

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While the Cowboys' 2025 season has been a roller coaster so far, the offense has been largely good under Schottenheimer, a longtime NFL offensive coordinator who helped the Jets reach back-to-back AFC Championships in 2009-10. 

"I like the balance," Schottenheimer said when asked about the offense's progress through five weeks. "I like the ability to, when you're struggling to run the ball a little bit like we were yesterday, it doesn't take much. It takes an explosive, great, well blocked run; Javonte's run at the end of the first half was just incredible. 

"I like how the ball is being spread around. ... I'm really pleased with the way we're playing up front. That's what we talk about all the time, owning the line of scrimmage. And it's not always going to be perfect when you play in this league because of the elite defenders that you have on the defensive line, but I think it all starts up front there. And then, of course, you know Dak is playing really, really well right now."