Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) takes a moment before an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021, in Arlington. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)
Cowboys name Ezekiel Elliott starting RB, but he probably won’t be absence with two others with NFL….
The Dallas Cowboys have listed Ezekiel Elliott as their starting running back, but that may be in name only.
On Wednesday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed he approved of naming Elliott RB1 but signaled he will split carries this season.
RB Rico Dowdle, a former undrafted free agent, is listed as the team’s RB2. In a Monday column, The Athletic’s Jon Machota noted that the South Carolina product “should be the favorite to lead the Cowboys in rushing attempts and rushing yards this season.”
Dowdle has only rushed for 385 yards and two touchdowns on 96 carries in three seasons with the Cowboys. However, he told Machota he expects an increased workload this season, so his numbers may improve.
Former first-team All-Pro Elliott may be past his prime. In 17 games with the New England Patriots last season, he recorded career lows in carries (184), rushing yards (642) and rushing TDs (three).
RB Dalvin Cook, who Dallas recently signed, is still on the practice squad. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Cowboys can elevate the ex-Minnesota Vikings star to the gameday roster three times before they would have to place him on the 53-man roster.
Dividing the workload between Dowdle and Elliott seems like Dallas’ best move. The Cowboys lost former Pro Bowl RB Tony Pollard (Titans) in free agency and still don’t have a clear replacement.
In the wide world of sports, there are certain positions or roles accompanied by a brighter spotlight.
Some historically have been the New York Yankees centerfielder, the Los Angeles Lakers’ franchise player, and the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback.
For the last eight years, Dak Prescott has worn the helmet of the latter. He’s coming off an MVP-caliber 2023 campaign, but the naysayers and scrutiny still abound. In the mind of one of Prescott’s top targets, wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the criticism — of which there’s really no true measurement of — directed at Prescott is absurd.
“It’s blasphemy,” Cooks said Wednesday, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota, of the criticism cast on Prescott. “It’s unbelievable. The guy shows up every year, year in and year out. Putting up numbers, leading his team.”
Being an NFL quarterback will always come with criticism. Being the signal-caller for America’s Team is more often than not going to come with even more.
Prescott’s resume is bullet-pointed with three Pro Bowl selections, six seasons with 3,000-plus yards passing, three years with 4,000-plus yards passing and another trio of seasons with 30 or more touchdowns. The Cowboys’ QB1 also owns a 73-41 record as a starter … in the regular season.
It is Prescott and the Cowboys’ failures in the postseason that are often the glaring negative used to besmirch him. Having led the Cowboys to the postseason in five instances, Prescott is 2-5 in the playoffs with both victories coming in the wild-card round.
Postseason success has eluded the Cowboys throughout the century.
Since claiming the franchise’s last Super Bowl in the 1995 season, Dallas hasn’t advanced past the Divisional Round, where it is 0-7 – the worst in the NFL during that span, per NFL Research.
