The Dallas Cowboys cruised to a victory in Week 1 so naturally they started out slow in Sunday's home opener against the New Orleans Saints.
A touchdown favorite, the Cowboys allowed the Saints to march down the field for a touchdown on the game's opening drive. After settling for a field goal on their first drive, Dallas then gave up a 70-yard touchdown to Rashid Shaheed. They are now in a 14-6 hole early in the second quarter.
With the way Derek Carr is carving open Mike Zimmer's defense, Mike McCarthy's offense needs to put together a touchdown drive. It has been an ugly start (to say the least), but if there is a silver lining for fans to hold onto it's that McCarthy has come to his senses on Ezekiel Elliott.
After Elliott got the start against the Browns, fan favorite Rico Dowdle opened as the Cowboys' primary running back on Sunday. Zeke did not see the field on the first drive. Even third-stringer Deuce Vaughn got a carry before Elliott.
Cowboys' Mike McCarthy started Rico Dowdle over Ezekiel Elliott in Week 2
The Cowboys had a 13-play scoring drive and Elliott didn't feature at all. His first snap came with 2:46 left in the first quarter.
It's an unexpected turn of events considering Elliott handled the bulk of the first half snaps last Sunday and ran well. Facing the Browns' vaunted front seven, Zeke rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He faced fewer stacked boxes than Dowdle, but his performance caught Cowboys fans off-guard. It wasn't until Dallas was in cruise control in the third quarter that Dowdle took over.
McCarthy stated all summer that the Cowboys' backfield would be a true committee. However, he hinted all along that Elliott would be the starter. Sure enough, the two-time rushing champ was listed over Dowdle on the Week 1 depth chart. While Elliott looked good against the Browns, Dowdle arguably had the better film.
It is possible that McCarthy is merely shaking things up to keep the 29-year-old Elliott fresh. Not that he received a big workload last Sunday, but it undoubtedly caught the eye of those watching that Elliott nearly went the entire first quarter without taking a snap. The fact Deuce Vaughn already has four carries at the time of this writing hints that Elliott may not be the team's feature back after all.
