FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys run game has been as expected through eight weeks - not very good.
From the beginning of training camp, there wasn't much hope surrounding a room that had Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, and Deuce Vaughn as its three backs that it could amount to anything substantial.
With the addition of Dalvin Cook, there was a thought that he could help inject some life into the NFL's worst run game (74.1 yards per game), but against the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas managed just 56 yards on the ground.
For Cook, who made his Cowboys debut in Santa Clara, he thinks due to the scoreline being so one-sided early and often in games, the running backs haven't gotten the necessary attempts to get rolling.
“That's just how some of the games been going for us,” Cook said. “We work our tails off here, and some games been getting out of hand. We ain't really had the bats to the plate to show what this running back room could do. We got some special talents in the room, we just got to keep getting more opportunities to show that we got a good group out here.”
Given that the Cowboys have often found themselves down by multiple scores, usually in the first quarter of games, head coach Mike McCarthy abandons the run, and that is reflected in their attempts.
Through eight weeks, Dallas averages just 21.7 rushing attempts per game, which ranks 31st in the NFL. The only team worse? The Seattle Seahawks (21.0).
McCarthy has repeatedly stated that the run game needs more attempts. While the coaching staff is trying to get two or three players reps, it could be beneficial to narrow the focus to one player to allow them to get into the rhythm Cook is talking about.
Cook thinks Dallas has a good running back room, but the stats suggest otherwise.
Is this the week the Cowboys finally stop chopping and changing their pecking order and roll with one back?
It seems like a logical decision, which likely means Dallas will continue to plug away with a running back-by-committee approach...despite it being obvious to everyone that it clearly isn't working.
