For weeks, the Dallas Cowboys’ running game struggled so much that the activation of 29-year-old Dalvin Cook — on his third team in two years — was looked upon as a ray of hope. One game may be too soon to issue a verdict, but Cook’s season debut of six carries for 12 yards on Sunday in San Francisco didn’t inspire a ton of optimism.
So what now?
A lot of attention this week has shifted to quarterback Dak Prescott’s contributions to the running game. His 24 yards rushing this season put him behind the likes of 39-year-old Joe Flacco, 37-year-old Andy Dalton and 35 other quarterbacks. He’s on pace to set a career low in rushing yards in a season, by a wide margin.
“For sure, I definitely think I have something to add,” Prescott said. “I don’t know what’s been made of it, but yeah, just top of my head, I know I’ve not been running. Whether it’s been the scrambles or not, couple play calls that could potentially be that way, just haven’t had the reads.”
Asked if Prescott believes he still has the physical ability to be an effective runner, he responded with firm confirmation.
“For sure,” Prescott said. “One thousand percent.”
The run game’s struggles have an interesting correlation to Prescott. There’s no question Prescott hasn’t been running enough, but his contributions to the ground attack shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a bonus. He can do better in that regard, but it doesn’t take away from the main plot that between the offensive line and the running backs, the soul of the run game has been fractured.
“I think I’ve always said, everything kind of starts with the run game,” right guard Zack Martin said. “I think a lot of our struggles have been because we haven’t been efficient in the run game. It’s a huge part of our emphasis the last couple of weeks. Just got to keep at it, working at it. … We have the guys. We just got to take ownership of it and just got to go. We’ve got the guys we need to do it. Does it have to be the best rushing offense in the league? No, but it has to be efficient and it has to be consistent.”
Game-by-game on the ground
Right now, it’s neither. The Cowboys’ running game ranks dead last in the NFL at 74.1 yards per game. Some will be quick to point to the nature of the games, with all four losses requiring the Cowboys to dig out of deep holes. The losses to the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions got out of hand in the second quarter, and the loss to the San Francisco 49ers waited until the third quarter.
But other data points indicate the faltering run game isn’t merely a product of game flow. In fact, the struggles running the ball are more of a cause of the game flow. Dallas’ 3.4 yards per carry are the worst in the NFL, indicating that even when the Cowboys do try to run, they don’t go anywhere. According to NFL Pro, they are minus-130 in yards over expected in the NFL, which is more than twice as bad as the second-worst team in the league.
The reasons for this have been discussed ad nauseam. The offensive line has not played up to standard. Everybody aside from Tyler Smith has struggled along the way, including Martin, the future Hall of Fame right guard. The Cowboys’ front office overcorrected from its 2019 gaffe of giving Ezekiel Elliott a monster contract to neglecting the position altogether. Dallas confused not needing a star running back with not needing a functional running game.
The consequences have had a domino effect.
“This system’s built on making the quarterback successful,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s the way I learned it 30-plus years ago. Everything we do is built into that. Obviously, the starting point of making a quarterback successful is running the football. So, we can start right there.”
Of the 10 highest-rated quarterbacks through Week 8, only five also have top-10 running games. That said, only one team — the Cincinnati Bengals — has a running game that’s bottom 10 in the league and a quarterback (Joe Burrow) rated in the top half of the league. That comes back to Martin’s point that the Cowboys don’t need to have a miraculous worst-to-first story with their running game, but they do need to be “efficient” and “consistent.”
Barring a trade deadline move, all viable options have been tested. Elliott has shown to have little left in the tank. The jury is out on Cook, but it would be unfair to heap expectations upon him to be the savior. Deuce Vaughn has had a tough enough time cracking the game-day active roster.
Even if Prescott gets things going a little more with his legs, it’s not going to transform the Cowboys’ rushing attack. The Cowboys’ offense is set up to feature Prescott’s arm, not his legs. And even though Prescott insists he’s capable physically, the movements on game day indicate he’s lost a step from where he was a few years ago.
A formidable offensive line and healthy dose of Rico Dowdle are still the Cowboys’ best hope at a decent running game. There was a flash of what Dowdle’s capable of in Pittsburgh, but it hasn’t shown up since, with the Lions game getting out of hand quickly and Dowdle missing the game against the 49ers. If that doesn’t work Sunday in Atlanta, Jerry Jones may need to reconsider his approach to Tuesday’s trade deadline if he wants to salvage the season.