The Dallas Cowboys run game was one of the worst in football in the early stages of the season, but now, as we approach Week 14, there have been some signs of life.
With Rico Dowdle firmly established as the starting back, and receiving the majority of carries, its no surprise to see the run game beginning to produce good results.
In the last two games, Dowdle has totaled 86 and 112 rushing yards from 19 and 22 carries, respectively, and it is the number of carries that Cowboys’ COO Stephen Jones thinks is a reason for the turnaround. But he also threw in a little nugget on the defensive improvement, contributing as well.
“I think it’s opportunities,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “At the end of the day, the offensive line [is] coming together as a group, but the main thing is the defense as we get healthier, the offense, the play caller, everybody gets more confidence when you don’t feel the pressure to score because you’re behind multiple scores. You get away from the things that you want to be doing, which is run the football.
“The teams that do it and do it well, run it well and certainly we’re getting back in that groove now with Rico. He’s doing a great job.”
A “groove”? That’s a fine one-word description of what’s been happening.
What Jones is alluding to is earlier in the season, the Cowboys defense was so bad that in the first quarter or early into the second, Dallas often found themselves down 14-0 or worse, leading to head coach/offensive play-caller Mike McCarthy to shelve the run game.
In the last two weeks, Mike Zimmer’s defense has improved. It keeps the score low, allows the offense to stay within its structure, and gives Rico ample carries to get into a rhythm.
So they both go hand-in-hand. If the defense isn’t giving up points, the offense doesn’t have to abandon the run game in an attempt to get back into the contest.
As long as Zimmer’s defense doesn’t get the doors blown off it, we’ll continue to see Dowdle running the football, and going by the last two weeks, that’s a good formula to follow.
