Sep 8, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) celebrates his first down run against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Cowboys season is effectively over as they have almost no shot of making the postseason. While they will have a lot to figure out to have a better season next year, they are making a huge change at the running back position for the rest of this season. They are demoting their once-great back, Ezekiel Elliott.Advertisement
Dallas Cowboys Have New Starting Running Back
Oct 6, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle (23) celebrates a touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
The backfield for the Cowboys has been an issue all year and they have had one of the worst run games in the league. Per Matt Hladik from The Spun:
Dallas went into the year with Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott as the team’s primary running backs, electing to not pursue star Derrick Henry in free agency. Overall, Dowdle has been solid, if not spectacular, but Elliott has looked his age (29) and has drawn the team’s ire for “habitual tardiness” and other issues.
So far, Dowdle has gotten more work than Elliott, but the Cowboys have taken a running back-by-committee approach–until today.
Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday that Dowdle will be the team’s lead back moving forward, beginning Monday night against the Houston Texans.
“Definitely, you have to get him the ball. That’s my focus to continue to get him opportunities. He’s the lead back,” McCarthy said, via Clarence Hill Jr. of All Dlls.
Dowdle has been the better of the two backs but not by that much. He has appeared in 8 games for the Cowboys so far and was the starter in 7 of those games. He has totaled; 374 yards on 83 carries, caught 24 passes for 166 yards, and three touchdowns. He has still not yet gotten a rushing score.
Elliott on the other hand, has been playing poorly, to say the least. The team has been free-falling after a mediocre start landing at a 3-6 record that is just going to get worse. They are on track for their first losing season since 2020, and only the second losing season in the last 14 years!
With Dak out for the season, they are primarily focused on next year, and even Micah Parsons has already started speaking about what the team can do to fix things for next year.
“We just need to stay the course,” said McCarthy, “and make sure we’re giving the players what they need, and putting them in positions to be successful, and just keep working on our execution.”
McCarthy should be gone by the end of the year but so far Jerry Jones is maintaining that McCarthy will be the coach going forward.
Cowboys fans think that this change took way too long to come, and by now it is way too late at their season is basically over:
“Took McCarthy long enough to realize that Rico Dowdle is giving you more than the rest of the room,” one fan said.
“McCarthy should have done this in Week 1. It was clear as day in camp that Rico didn’t need to be shackled in a timeshare,” said another fan.
“This definitely seems like a decision you make in Week 11. Credit to 30 year old Zeke and the electric Deuce Vaughn for holding him off that long,” one fan added.
“That’s why the Cowboys are annoying. Should not have taken 10 weeks to come to this decision,” another fan said.
“This would’ve been nice to have with Dak still around,” said one fan.
“Cowboys declaring FINALLY that Rico Dowdle is the true, definitive, No. 1 lead running back after their season has already turned into pixie dust is hilarious, this team makes me sick,” one fan added.
“Over ten weeks?? It’s took Mike, Jerry, and the whole lot of idiots to decide something everybody and their mama knew to do before the szn started,” another fan said.
