One thing is for sure, both the run defense and the run offense of the Dallas Cowboys have been near the worst in football after the first two weeks of the season.
Ezekiel Elliott, Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle have been the three backs taking all the carries after the first two weeks. Yet Jerry Jones said that he doesn’t necessarily see a change that would involve Dalvin Cook this week.
What Will It Hurt?
At some point, you have to accept the reality that two unproven backs who have failed to produce and a veteran running back on the decline is just not the answer.
Dalvin Cook might also might not be the answer, but it can’t get any worse than what we have seen the first two weeks.
The Cowboys signed Cook to their practice squad in the days following the conclusion of the preseason, once again Jerry Jones again doing everything days before the regular season starts.
Cook spent six seasons from 2017 to 2022 atop the running back pecking order with the Minnesota Vikings before stints with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens last season. In his limited usage in 2023, he averaged 3.2 yards per carry after topping the 4.0 yards per carry mark each of his first four seasons.
It doesn’t help when you get boatraced out of the jump like they did against the Saints last week, but even being down a couple of scores where they could still try and run the ball it looked pathetic.
By The Numbers
Dowdle and Zeke are tied for first on the team with 56 rushing yards, with Dowdle having received 15 carries and Elliot 16.
Neither back is on pace to top 150 carries or 500 rushing yards this season. In addition, Dowdle has the edge in receptions with 5 catches for 35 yards to Elliott’s four for 25, and Pro Football Focus has Dowdle grading better in pass blocking.
Check out the poll below and let me know if you agree with me. I think the Cowboys would do better with Zeke and Cook together than trying to sprinkle in Rico, Zeke and Vaughn.
Running back by committee is just not going to work. You need one or two backs that take the bulk of the carries.
The Cowboys are currently 25th in the NFL when it comes to the ground game, yet Jerry Jones does not think they need to do anything about it? Dude, Mike McCarthy wants to be committed to the run, but when you have nearly the worst group in the NFL, how can you?
Jerry didn’t draft a running back or bring in a guy like J.K Dobbins who is dominating through the first two weeks. he signed with the Chargers and currently leads the league with 266 yards on just 27 attempts, a whopping 9.9 yards-per-carry average.
He is also tied for first in explosive runs, second in yards after contact per attempt, and tied for fifth with 11 first downs. Oh, and he’s playing for a fraction of what the Cowboys are paying Ezekiel Elliott.
All I am saying is Dalvin Cook is still sitting on the practice squad, and nobody can tell me that it could be worse.
Sure, they ran for over 100 yards combined in the first game of the season against the Browns, but it didn’t look good in that.
Nobody is afraid of this backfield, and until one of these guys gives them a reason to, teams are going to take CeeDee Lamb away and force Dak and company to make someone else beat them.
I still think this team is going to win 10 or more games, but man it is so annoying not having a running game.