Film room: How the Dallas Cowboys’ running game can get back on track (2024)

The Cowboys started the season with one of the more formidable rushing attacks in the NFL. They were versatile with two different backs in Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard who had complementary skill sets. They were diverse in their schemes, seeming to have a successfully distinct run-game focus each week based on the opponent. They controlled the line of scrimmage.

Through the first 6 games of the season, the Cowboys were averaging 5.1 yards per carry (3rd in the NFL) and 164.3 rushing yards per game (2nd in the NFL). Since then, they have averaged just 4.1 yards per carry (22nd in the NFL) and 93.7 rushing yards per game (24th in the NFL).

So what do the Cowboys need to do to get their rushing attack back on track?

Get Pollard more involved

After a great start to the season, Elliott has struggled of late. He averaged 5.1 yards per rush through his first six games, but has averaged just 3.4 since. The injury he is dealing with is clearly impacting his short-area quickness and explosiveness. Just look at how he was laboring on this run:

Prior to that run (which was successful because of the blocking, not the ball carrier), Elliott went 40 straight carries across more than three games without a 10-yard rush. He’s clearly not 100%.

While the entire running game has diminished over their last six games, Pollard has still been effective, averaging more than 5 yards per carry despite the team’s struggles.

Pollard is out-gaining Elliott whether running to the perimeter (6.38 yards per carry on runs outside the tackle vs. 4.81 for Elliott) or between the tackles (5.02 vs. 4.18), according to Pro Football Focus. He has been excellent all around and should be getting a larger share of the carries, at least until Zeke gets healthy.

Attack the perimeter

Pollard has been especially dangerous on runs to the outside. Given the offensive line’s recent struggles blocking between the tackles, Kellen Moore needs to put a greater emphasis on attacking the perimeter with Pollard. He’s a game-changer in space and on the edge:

You can see on a run like that how there is more space to maneuver, which means there is more margin for error if blocking assignments aren’t executed perfectly. The running back has an easier time setting up blockers, making defenders miss and avoiding the gang tackling that occurs more frequently between the tackles. This leads to more yards after contact as well.

With a player like Pollard who can create big plays on the edge, he has to be accounted for by the defense. Dallas can make opponents have to play the entire width of the field with more runs to the outside, which will also help limit the pass rush and set up play-action.

Continuity on the offensive line

The Cowboys offensive line has struggled in the run game for half the season now. There are a multitude of things they aren’t doing well. They’re consistently losing their 1-on-1 blocks:

Sometimes, they’re flat-out whiffing:

Their double teams have been ineffective, often failing to move defensive tackles. Take a look at this run. Here is a snapshot from just after the snap:

That’s a lot of space and looks like it should result in a big gain. The Cowboys would only get one yard out of this, though. Focus on center Tyler Biadasz:

He did not deliver an impactful blow on the double-team and the defensive tackle was not displaced as a result. You could argue that Biadasz was too quick to leave the double and climb to the second level-defender. That defender did make a lateral move to the gap outside of left guard Connor McGovern but wasn’t really attacking the line of scrimmage, which would have triggered Biadasz’s release from the double. Maybe that’s splitting hairs. Either way, Biadasz’s block inside on the double-team didn’t do much, and McGovern was left in a 1-on-1 he would not win.

I can’t tell you exactly why these types of things are taking place in the run game, but the cherry-picked plays above are a consistent theme. One reason could be the lack of continuity in recent weeks. The Cowboys had the same five offensive linemen in each game from weeks 2-6, when the rushing attack was dominating. In their last six games, however, they’ve had five different lineups up front. That can certainly impact the familiarity, execution on double-teams and communication at the line.

With that said, it looks like the Cowboys are nearing full strength up front. Hopefully, they can pick a starting five that works, stay with it, regain that continuity and get back to the level they were playing at earlier in the season.

Stick with it

Finally, Moore needs to stick with the running game a little bit more and let the big men up front get into a rhythm. Make the defense have to engage in the physical element of the game, an element sometimes not present in the passing game. This will help open up other areas of the offense and even take the pressure off of the pass protection.

In four of their last six games (against the Vikings, Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders), the Cowboys’ attempt at running the ball has plummeted after halftime. Their second-half rushing attempts from those games were just 7, 5, 5, and 4 respectively. With the exception of the Broncos game, the score did not dictate that the Cowboys needed to become one-dimensional on offense.

I’m not advocating for 50-50 run-pass play selection. That’s not realistic in today’s NFL. In fact, there is only one team in the NFL that has been running the ball at least 50% of the time this season. Not to mention, the Cowboys’ passing game is too good to be just a complement to the offense. But they need to get back to being the dual-threat offense that made them look like Super Bowl contenders earlier in the season.

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