The ability to effectively run the football is a lost art in the National Football League. Last year only seven running backs gained more than 1,000 yards on the ground while ten had more than 900 yards. Once upon a time the 1,000-yard mark was the holy grail to measure a running back’s success by, but as the NFL has become a more pass happy league, along with the wear and tear that ball carriers are faced with, effective running has become a lost art.
But one team that doesn’t fit the norm in the National Football League is the Dallas Cowboys. In 2014, the Cowboys were second in the NFL in rushing which led to them winning the NFC East. And here in 2016, Dallas is once again second in the league in rushing. The Cowboys are 8-1 which is the best record in the NFL. Since 2011, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones has used three, first-round picks on offensive linemen as he is looking to return his team to the glory days of the 1990’s when they won three Super Bowl Titles which was predicated on their ability to run the football. Jones has built his team in the trenches, but he was missing that one game changer that he now has.
After the 2014 National Football League season, the Cowboys surprisingly allowed running back DeMarco Murray to leave as a free agent after he led the league in rushing. And without Murray in 2015, along with injuries to starting quarterback Tony Romo, the Cowboys record reflected that as they went 4-12. The Cowboys subpar record meant that they would be selecting early on in the NFL Draft this past spring. And after the Cowboys missed out on drafting quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, Jones was more than happy to settle on running back Ezekiel Elliot.
Elliot joined the Cowboys as a very accomplished runner. As a sophomore in 2014, Elliot rushed for 1,878 yards and 18 touchdowns as he helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national title. Last year Elliot rushed for 1,821 yards as he was named as the Big Ten Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.
In Elliot’s first game as a paid professional, he was limited to just 51 yards on the ground as the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants 20-19. The following week would see Elliot gain 83 yards rushing against the Washington Redskins, but a pair fumbles dipped into his playing time as head coach Jason Garrett would lean on veteran running back Alfred Morris. However the Cowboys would go on to win the contest 27-23. In Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, Elliot would explode for 140 yards as he and the Cowboys would begin to get their footing. Elliot has five, 100-yard rushing performances to his credit so far this season which includes him getting the Green Bay Packers for 157 yards in Week 6, and this past Sunday where he gained 114 yards rushing, along with 95 yards receiving as he was a one-man wrecking crew against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
So far for the season Elliot has 1,005 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns. And as Elliot’s play making ability has helped the Cowboys ascend to possessing the best record in the National Football League, he is also in line to possibly take home some hardware as the league’s MVP and Rookie of the Year.
At 6’0″, 225 lbs., Elliot is in that rare air as he has speed, elusiveness, vision, and power which are all vital to being a quality running back in the National Football League. Elliot’s rookie campaign can make the folks in Dallas reminisce about 1977 when Tony Dorsett joined the Cowboys after he won the Heisman Trophy in 1976 for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Dorsett provided the Cowboys with the backfield speed that they had been lacking as he gained 1,007 yards on the ground to help Dallas win the Super Bowl. But as Elliot has the speed of Dorsett, he also has the power of Emmitt Smith who’s legs churned in the 1990’s to help the Cowboys win three more Super Bowl Titles. And the more that Elliot can run to daylight, the optimism about the Cowboys winning another championship in the near future will continue to increase.
Right now the Cowboys appear to be one of the most complete teams in the National Football League due to their ability to run the football as effective as they’ve been with Elliot. Elliot’s ability has made life easier for Cowboys rookie running back Dak Prescott who doesn’t have to win the game by himself, as well as a defense which is 11th in total defense, as well as being plus-three in the turnover category. The running game has kept them fresh as they don’t have to be in the field as much.
And as it is getting close to the stretch run in the National Football League, the Cowboys will rely on Elliot and their running game more than ever in order to close out games, along with executing when the temperatures drops as the rushing attack will definitely be called upon. The Cowboys still have three divisional games remaining as they look to sew up home-field advantage in the NFC, and regardless of how far that they’ll go this season, the legs of Elliot will be a big part of it.
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