In a span of two weeks, Jerry Jones has gone from fielding questions about Jason Garrett's job security to comparing his top receiver to a certain Hall of Fame receiver that helped the Cowboys win their last Super Bowl.

On Wednesday -- three days after the Cowboys beat the Falcons to push their record to 5-5 and a day before the Cowboys face the Alex Smith-less Redskins in a pivotal NFC East clash, which you can stream on fuboTV (Try for free) -- Jones compared the impact Amari Cooper has had on the Cowboys' offense to Michael Irvin's impact back in the 1990s.

"Well, I think I'm going to go back to Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin. Emmitt had a lot of his runs where he wasn't touched for the first three or four yards," Jones told "Good Morning Football" on NFL Network. "It's because [Troy] Aikman and Irvin had them backed off, and they knew if they didn't stay back then Aikman, Irvin and [Jay] Novacek would take them right down the field. Well, Cooper has done that for us. We got to keep them back off. When we do, then Zeke can basically have the kind of days we want him to have as a running back. So it's a balance thing -- it always has been."

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the Cowboys offense has performed marginally better since Cooper arrived in Dallas via trade. With Cooper, who has caught 14 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown with his new team, the Cowboys are 2-1 and they're scoring 21 points per game. Without Cooper, the Cowboys went 3-4 and scored 20 points per game. 

What is notable, however, is how much better Ezekiel Elliott has played since Cooper arrived. He's averaging 167 yards from scrimmage per game with Cooper. Without Cooper, Zeke averaged 113 yards from scrimmage per game. Dak Prescott has also improved. His passer rating with Cooper? 96.4. Without Cooper? 87.4.

Clearly, Cooper has helped the Cowboys. Nobody doubts that, and nobody expected otherwise. Before Cooper arrived, the team's best receiver was slot man Cole Beasley. Cooper might not be a superstar, but he's a WR1, even though he's prone to bouts of inconsistency. That doesn't mean the Cowboys won't eventually come to regret the price they had to pay to acquire Cooper (a first-round pick and a new contract eventually), but for now they can enjoy their quick ascent up the standings, which Cooper has contributed to.

At 5-5, they're only a game behind the Redskins in the NFC East. The Redskins just lost Alex Smith for the season. A win over the Colt McCoy-led Redskins would pull the Cowboys even with the Redskins. It certainly looks like the Cowboys should be considered the new frontrunners in the division. They added a WR1 to their roster a few weeks ago and the Redskins lost their QB1 a few days ago. 

That alone should shift the balance of power in the NFC East.