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There’s a lot that the Dallas Cowboys need to fix heading into the 2018 season. We all agree there.
So much of what hurt them this past season was the absence of Ezekiel Elliott for six games, but you didn’t need me to tell you that.
Zeke is heralded for his abilities to run at will and milk the clock when the Cowboys need to most. He’s their most potent offensive weapon.
A majority of the Cowboys success on the ground is obviously Zeke, but it’s also quarterback Dak Prescott. The truth is Dak has shown an ability to make things happen on the ground when he needs to.
Prescott scored three times on the ground during Zeke’s absence, half of his rushing touchdowns last season. An astute reddit user noted just how effective Dak and Zeke have been on the ground individually since they entered the NFL.
Since 2016 both Elliott and Prescott are the leaders in rushing touchdowns at their respective positions. That’s quite a statistic.
Zeke leads players like LeGarrette Blount, Latavius Murray, Tudd Gurley, and LeSean McCoy. Dak finds himself ahead of signal-callers like Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor, and, remarkably, Kirk Cousins. The only team that has both a running back and quarterback in the top five is the Buffalo Bills.
Between the two of them Zeke (22) and Dak (12) have 34 rushing touchdowns since entering the NFL.
Rushing TD Leaders 2016-2017 | ||||
POS | Player | Team | Games | TDs |
RB | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | 25 | 22 |
RB | LeGarrette Blount | NWE/PHI | 32 | 20 |
RB | Latavius Murray | OAK/MIN | 30 | 20 |
RB | Todd Gurley | LAR | 31 | 19 |
RB | LeSean McCoy | BUF | 31 | 19 |
POS | Player | Team | Games | TDs |
QB | Dak Prescott | DAL | 32 | 12 |
QB | Cam Newton | CAR | 31 | 11 |
QB | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | 30 | 10 |
QB | Kirk Cousins | WAS | 32 | 8 |
QB | Marcus Mariota | OTI | 30 | 7 |
This is obviously made all the more impressive by the fact that Ezekiel Elliott served a six-game suspension this past season. In a time where people have somewhat doubted the prowess of the Cowboys run game, this stat is quite telling.
There are still improvements the Cowboys need to make offensively, but, shocker here, the Cowboys are obviously far more effective than anyone else when Zeke is a part of the gameplan.
Hopefully everything clicks together in 2018 as there is obviously a lot for the team to work with. The opportunities are there, it’s simply time to capitalize on them.