A standout player for the Dallas Cowboys is ready to compete this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers. The player has been waiting his turn to help this team win, and now he is needed more than ever.
As fans know, the Cowboys have had significant issues rushing the football. However, the team is determined to overcome this challenge and is working hard to improve their standing in the league in rushing yards.
The rushing famine resulted from lackluster front-office moves and the coaching staff’s unwavering commitment to a former running back.
The Cowboys can turn the issues around with the running game, and it may just be one player away from opening up the offense.
No Running Game, Big Problems
Most fans know that a good running game helps multiple facets of a football team. It allows the offense to stay balanced and gives the defense a break.
The Dallas Cowboys’ bottom-of-the-barrel rushing attack has decimated a defense that is usually exhausted by the second half. Exhaustion can lead to injuries, and guess what? The defense has injured players in multiple areas.
Is this all the rushing attacks’ fault? No, it isn’t, but it could be a contributing factor.
The passing game is still doing well without a consistent rushing attack, but defenses can focus on the passing game and make the Cowboys rush the ball, which is not beneficial for the team.
As it stands, the Cowboys’ running game is averaging a league-worst 77 yards per game and two touchdown runs, also the league’s worst. The red zone offense has also struggled and is second to last in the NFL with a 37.5% score rate.
The Cowboys have to do better and see what other players can do.
Two of the three current running backs on the active roster are averaging at or below three yards per carry.
Ezekiel Elliott- 3.0 yards
Deuce Vaughn- 2.9 yards
Rico Dowdle, who should get the bulk of the carries Sunday, will be the running back to watch. If he can get the needed touches, he has proven he can get the running game going.
Dowdle has not averaged under four yards a carry in a game this season. His receiving out of the backfield is also a reason to keep him in the game.
He is averaging over eight yards per reception.
That equals an average to above-average running back.
The way the running back group needs to be set is Rico Dowdle as the number one back and Ezekiel Elliott as the third back on the depth chart.
But who should be the number two running back?
The Standout Player Who Should See the Field Sunday
Dalvin Cook should be the number two running back. He has been on the practice squad since the beginning of the season, and fans have been waiting to see what he can do.
The Cowboys need to revitalize their run game, and Cook is a player who may be the solution. He expressed his eagerness to assist the Cowboys before the season started.
“Obviously I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to come in and help a great organization to win football games,” Cook said in August. “And as I look around and I look at the running back room, it’s a bunch of guys that I can go in there and run the football with.”
Cook conveyed his excitement about the opportunity to work alongside such a skilled group of running backs.
“My years in Minnesota it was Dalvin, Dalvin, Dalvin, just give him the ball, now, just a little adjustment, help everybody, be productive, and that’s just my mindset. I’m going to be ready to go. Being around Zeke, I can obviously learn a lot from him. He’s older than me. Just soaking up the game, still. Learning from the young guys, too. Just being a part of this group, I feel like we’re going to push each other.”
Jerry Jones and Coach Mike McCarthy have kept Cook out of games week after week. He may see the field on Sunday against the 49ers.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy gave an update on Cook’s status, suggesting that the four-time Pro Bowl player could be elevated for Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I think the biggest thing for us is we’re taking the full week. Dalvin is ready. I really like the work that he’s putting in,” McCarthy told the media. “I think he’s definitely in position to (play).”
What are the Cowboys getting in Dalvin Cook?
Cook is a player who was selected for the Pro Bowl in four of the last five years, rushing for at least 1,135 yards each season from 2019 to 2022.
In 2023, with the New York Jets, he played 15 games. Still, he recorded only 214 rushing yards on 67 carries, averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per carry, due to a struggling offensive line and a rotation of quarterbacks, not including Aaron Rodgers.
He wrapped up the year with the Baltimore Ravens, rushing for 23 yards on eight carries in the 2023 AFC Divisional Round against the Houston Texans. Cook is just a few weeks younger than Ezekiel Elliott, who split time in the Cowboys’ backfield with Rico Dowdle and Hunter Luepke.
Dalvin Cook is a player who needs to get an opportunity to show what he can or cannot do in a game. At this point, the Dallas Cowboys have nothing to lose, and the running game can’t get any worse.