ARLINGTON, Texas – In one moment you are looking for the longest field goals in NFL history.
Then research how many rushing yards the Cowboys have allowed in a single game.
And then you start counting how long it’s been since the Cowboys scored a touchdown.
And before you can even bat an eyelid, you start talking about the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in team history?
That’s how crazy this game was. The Cowboys came out on top in the fourth quarter and had a real chance to pull off what would have been a miracle. And with Baylor-Colorado on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine there being two games in one weekend.
But the Cowboys didn’t win because they were unlucky. They didn’t win the game because they just don’t have the ability to run the football.
It’s really not hard to figure out why the offense is struggling so much and why it’s affecting everything else that’s happening.
Don’t get me wrong, everyone on the team not named Brandon Aubrey has their problems here. The defense is getting shredded beyond belief and can’t stop the run. I could just as easily turn this column into a “can’t stop the run” article and it would still work.
But in my opinion, the biggest problem with this team is the one-dimensionality of the offense. It was only when the game got completely out of control that the Ravens defense let up and played more softly, allowing the Cowboys to get back into the game.
But it certainly wasn’t the running game’s fault.
The Cowboys only achieved a total of 51 rushing yards in the entire game.
By comparison, the Ravens rushed for 55 yards in the first quarter alone. Then they rushed for 56 yards in the second quarter alone. Then they rushed for 122 yards in the third quarter before rushing for 41 yards in the fourth quarter when the Ravens barely had the ball. But when they had to run down the clock, they did.
The Cowboys should have run the ball early in the game and just didn’t manage to do it.
That committee approach isn’t working right now. I’m also not sure why Dalvin Cook isn’t ready to play, or why they think he’s not ready, or just what’s going on there.
Maybe – and this is a theory that occurred to me last week – the plan is to get Cook this week, since he should be fresh when everyone else plays the Giants on Thursday on a short week.
Either way, whether it’s Cook or trading for someone else, the Cowboys need to find a way to breathe life into their running game.
It doesn’t help that one of the big names among the free agents – Derrick Henry – rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys didn’t get a free agent running back other than Royce Freeman, who was released after training camp. They didn’t draft a running back at all.
The plan was to use a combination of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke, so it should come as no surprise that it hasn’t worked out after three games.
As I said, that’s not the only problem. There’s no pointing fingers with this team because the defense has all kinds of problems and the offense is out of sync, too.
But there has to be more to this running back situation. Zeke only managed three runs of six yards. For someone who is supposedly the best pass protector, it doesn’t make sense that he isn’t on the field more often, especially when your quarterback has thrown the ball 51 times.
I’m not saying “more Zeke” is the solution to the problem, but if he gets very few touches (three carries and two targets), doesn’t play on special teams, and is the third running back on the field, then it really doesn’t add up.
But what did Sunday bring? The Ravens ran over the Cowboys – until they didn’t. The Cowboys couldn’t move the ball at all – until they did.
The Cowboys somehow had a real chance to win the game – until they missed that chance.
This game is certainly not easy to understand. At least we don’t have to wait very long, as another game is coming out in four days.
On the other hand, I’m not sure that’s long enough to fix this running game.
