Cowboys blow up over lack of running game

By David Mullen

Call it internal combustion.

The Dallas Cowboys are imploding, and the eruptions are coming from within. The fire storm began with an early warning from media pundits and fans that this team had not addressed obvious issues at running back and on defense in the offseason. It has now led to a series of incidents where the owner’s and player’s uncorroborated optimism has turned to inappropriate finger pointing. 

Prior to the beginning of the 2024 season, owner Jerry Jones said he was “all in” on making the Cowboys better. Dallas had a 12-5 regular season record in 2023 but looked ill-prepared in a first-round playoff shellacking at home to the underdog Green Bay Packers. 

“All in” turned out to be losing RB Tony Pollack to free agency and replacing him with aging former Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott. “All in” meant sticking with head coach Mike McCarthy despite his track record of abysmal clock management, bad game preparation and questionable play calls under pressure.

Through eight weeks, of the four current NFL rushing leaders, three RBs — Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs — were free agent acquisitions. Dallas RB Rico Dowdle is 41st in NFL rushing with 246 yards. Elliott is 68th in the NFL with 149 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Thirteen quarterbacks have more rushing yards than Elliott.

At present, the team rushing average of 77.2 yards per game is the worst in the NFL. Coming off a bye week, the Cowboys lost to the San Francisco 49ers 30-24 on October 27. The game was not as close as the score. Dallas’ running backs totaled just 56 rushing yards against San Francisco. 

A nonexistent running game means the Cowboys must pass. Opposing defenses are wise to the game plan. Dallas QB Dak Prescott has been sacked 18 times and has thrown eight interceptions. As a team, the Cowboys have given up 48 more points than they have scored. 

Only the 2-6 New York Giants and 1-7 Carolina Panthers are worse in the NFC. 

The Cowboys record stands at 3-4, good enough for third place in the NFC East behind the 6-2 Washington Commanders and 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles. Twelve teams in the NFC have better records. Seven teams make the playoffs. The Cowboys lost at home by 25 points to the 2-6 New Orleans Saints and by 38 points to the Detroit Lions. They barely eked out a win on the road against the reeling Giants. 

After the Detroit loss, “all in” Jones went “all off” on “Shan & RJ” on 105.3 The Fan during his weekly radio appearance. “If you think I’m interested on a damn phone call with you over radio,” Jones fumed, “sitting here throwing all the good [decisions] out with the dishwater, you have got to be smoking something over there this morning.” 

Sorry, Jerry. Signing Elliott was not a good decision. Going into 2024 without a running game was not a good decision. Throwing complete support behind head coach Mike McCarthy was not a good decision.

Local sports teams, especially those with the following of the Cowboys, are not just a business. They are a passion project. Team loyalty is one emotion shared by a divided community together. The Dallas Cowboys are not a commodity item. Their fans buy the tickets, merchandise and create the TV ratings that lead to large revenues. Fans expect team management to try to deliver a quality product on the field.  

Dallas legend and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman has questioned the Cowboys wide receiver corps. “They can be lazy at times and struggle to run good routes,” said Aikman, who quarterbacked the last Dallas team to appear in the Super Bowl in 1996. “I think they run terrible routes, and I’ve thought that beyond this year.” That is on Jones’ endorsement of McCarthy.

After the loss to the 49ers, Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs went after WFAA-TV reporter Mike Leslie, who had posted on X a less than flattering replay of Diggs lackluster effort on a pass play to San Francisco TE George Kittle. 

“That’s what you took from that?” an aggressive Diggs fired at Leslie. “Out of that whole play, that’s what you took from that? You don’t know football. You can’t do nothing that I do. You can’t go out there and do nothing. Stay in your lane, buddy. Stop playing with me, bro.” Diggs might consider staying in his defensive passing lane.

The poor play and lack of effort is not the fault of a former star quarterback, a local TV reporter or an avid fan base. The fault lies with the 82-year-old Jones, who believes he is the smartest talent evaluator in the NFL, or at least in Dallas.   

Henry, who had said he wanted to play for Dallas, never heard from Jones and the Cowboys. In March, Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal (with incentives worth $4 million more) with the Baltimore Ravens. After eight games, Henry leads the NFL with 946 rushing yards.

The Cowboys are blowing up and not in a good way. Call it internal combustion. Jerry Jones has lit the fuse.