There's no doubt the Cowboys' offense is less weaponized than they were a season ago. The departure of Amari Cooper alone was a major blow to the league's most productive offense. Despite losing some key pieces, the core offensive unit in Dallas led by Dak Prescott is still intact. Will they be able to keep the' offense rolling in 2022? Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo believes they will.

Romo joined CBS Sports Radio's Maggie Gray and Andrew Perloff on Tuesday to talk Cowboys, and his confidence in Prescott and the rest of the offense didn't appear swayed. Romo acknowledged that the Cowboys offense will have to do things differently in 2022.

“And you’re seeing just a little bit of change start to happen,” Romo said. “So I think you’ll see a shift in philosophy a little bit, the identity might change and get back toward the 2016-ish ‘17, ‘18 season.”

The time period Tony Romo alluded to were the peak years of Ezekiel Elliott's career, years that the Cowboys relied much more heavily on the run than they have in recent seasons. Since that time it has been Prescott and the passing game that have emerged as the driving force of Dallas' offense. Romo still expects Prescott to play that role in the offense in 2022, just not the same way as in recent seasons.

“I think he’s shown he’s more than capable of playing great football consistently throughout a year and I just think it’s gonna be a little different,” said Romo. “You know, because the weapons won’t be quite as dynamic. They’ll still be very good, but I do think that you’ll see teams play them just a little bit different.”

It's unlikely Romo was predicting a return to 2016 form for Elliott. Zeke is a high-mileage, veteran running back who is working his way back from a partially torn PCL last year. Elliott might not be what he once was, but performances in the first few weeks of last season suggest he's still got some gas in the tank. Between Elliott and Tony Pollard, Kellen Moore should be able to piece together a decent run game for the Cowboys this season. Romo believes they are going to need it.