Cowboys game ball: Can there be one after the debacle versus the Colts?

Awful. Just plain awful. Ask any Cowboys fan about the game versus the Colts and that would be the likely answer, once you censored out all of the swearing. There is just not much good to say about a game where the Cowboys lose 23-0.

We’ll have to stretch the definition of “game ball” this week, but not too much. One guy was still a warrior out there and gave it everything he had. Ezekiel Elliott just doesn’t quit. A week after he had 40 touches, he lead the Cowboys on offense, in fact, he was basically their offense. He carried the ball 18 times for 87 yards. While falling short of 100 yards, he did average a healthy 4.8 yards per carry. Additionally, Zeke had seven catches (on eight targets) for 41 yards. That’s 128 yards from scrimmage on a day when the offense had only 292 yards.

It wasn’t just the yards, but it was the physical nature of his running. He was not to be denied. Several times he was stopped short of a first down only to use his legs and churn out a conversion. In fact, the physical nature of his running, including another hurdle over a defender where he ended up getting pounded, is starting to take its toll. Zeke was noticeably limping at a point in the second half. He is starting to ask out of games more and more. He is giving everything he has and it’s starting to catch up with him.

The Cowboys are reliant on Zeke, and he doesn't shy away from that. In an awful game, Ezekiel Elliott demonstrated he was ready for action, unlike the rest of his team.

As an honorable mention, let’s throw out some kudos to Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin. The tight end role is finally starting to matter again. Schultz had three catches for 23 yards and Jarwin had four catches for 45 yards. It wasn’t a tremendous output, but following up on last week’s game, they are showing they can add to this Cowboys offense.

Otherwise, there wasn’t much to like about the Cowboys on Sunday.