Dak Prescott can’t carry the team alone.
Historically, one of the NFL’s most overpaid quarterbacks, Prescott has seen the Dallas Cowboys repeatedly stumble in the playoffs. As he heads into an ‘all in’ 2024 season, he requires a robust running game to offset his ongoing turnover issues and playoff struggles.
Rather than support the $240 million quarterback with one of the league’s top running backs or invest in a new rushing strategy through the NFL Draft, Jerry Jones has chosen a shortsighted, nostalgic approach.
Nine weeks into the season, this nostalgia is negatively impacting Prescott and the Cowboys.
Ezekiel Elliott missed the recent game against Atlanta due to disciplinary issues, as reported by multiple sources. He was not included in the flight to Atlanta and had been late to team functions, missing a meeting.
“Zeke was late for a handful of things this week,” stated FOX’s Jay Glazer.
This setback is particularly damaging for Elliott and the 3-5 Cowboys, who lost 27-21 to Kirk Cousins and the Falcons.
Most teams would likely have passed on reuniting with the 29-year-old Elliott, whose performance has declined over the years and who just finished a career-worst season with a struggling New England Patriots squad. However, Jones, one of sports’ wealthiest owners, opted to back Prescott with Elliott, eight years after their peak years together.
With Prescott now contending with hand and hamstring injuries, the ramifications of Jones’ offseason choices appear even graver. “(Owner Jerry Jones) didn’t bolster his running game,” NFL insider John McClain told talkSPORT. “Everybody’s wondering who’s going to carry the ball for the Cowboys—that puts even more pressure on Dak Prescott.”
Elliott has voiced concerns about his limited touches and role in the 2024 Cowboys, a team that has been one of the biggest disappointments this season.
In Week 9, the veteran running back behaved as if he was above the team, even as he averaged a career-low of 3.1 yards per carry and only started two games.
“Just cut him,” one fan tweeted. “He was a cancer in his prime,” wrote another. “Great locker room guy,” a third fan sarcastically commented. “Glad they brought him back.”
In 2024, Elliott ranks among the worst running backs in the league, playing behind the highest-paid quarterback in history. Many teams would have released him by now, especially after his lack of discipline rendered him ineffective against the Falcons.
He’s on the brink of being out of the league. Yet, inexplicably, Jones and the struggling 3-5 Cowboys continue to stand by Zeke, even as their season teeters on the edge of collapse.
