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The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys, for most of the 2025\u00a0NFL\u00a0season, have been focusing exclusively on one side of the ball. While the defense, made demonstrably worse by the loss of\u00a0Micah Parsons, has faltered, the offense is having maybe its best season ever under\u00a0Dak Prescott.<\/p>\n
Excellent through the air and on the ground, the career renaissance from\u00a0Javonte Williams\u00a0has come at one cost. After drafting Jaydon Blue in the fifth round to play a major role on the team, head coach Brian Schottenheimer hasn\u2019t had to use him much. Things went a step further in Week 11, when he was surprisingly inactive for the game.<\/p>\n
A combination of a lethal passing game featuring\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0and\u00a0CeeDee Lamb, combined with a career renaissance from Williams, has given Dallas a puncher\u2019s chance in every game. The latter, though, was the biggest shock.<\/p>\n
Rico Dowdle\u00a0came into his own in the second half of the season last year, but the Cowboys didn\u2019t believe he could handle lead-back responsibilities going into 2025. They\u2019ve turned out to be wildly incorrect, but their plan hasn\u2019t gone completely off the rails.<\/p>\n
Despite a spectacular season from Dowdle, Dallas has also gotten some incredible production from Williams, who is up to 809 rushing yards through 10 games (24 behind Dowdle\u2019s total)\u00a0and ranks 10th on\u00a0PFSN\u2019s RB Impact.<\/p>\n
As a result, the team has mixed in\u00a0Miles Sanders, Malik Davis, and the Blue mentioned above for the RB2 role. This week, though, was a rather curious week for the franchise. Facing the\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders\u00a0after making some significant defensive additions at the trade deadline, they thoroughly dominated their competition.<\/p>\n
That was due to Pickens and Lamb being forced to miss the first script as a result of disciplinary action taken against them by the team itself. Another key thing that caught many people\u2019s attention was the lack of Blue\u00a0in the game plan.<\/p>\n
Going inactive for the game, he had to cede RB2 duties to Davis, who has seven total carries this season. Finally, Schottenheimer explained his rationale behind the move, citing the rookies\u2019 inexperience as the primary reason for the healthy scratch.<\/p>\n
As\u00a0Jon Machota of The Athletic covered\u00a0his comments, \u201cJaydon is learning a lot about this league. He\u2019s always going to continue to compete and put his best foot forward. He doesn\u2019t have to like the decision if it goes against him to play someone else, but he\u2019s got to make sure he\u2019s always prepared to go play.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the first time, the head coach expressed confidence that Blue\u00a0could one day be \u201cthe guy\u201d for the Cowboys. \u201cJaydon has to understand, until you\u2019re the guy, which at some point hopefully he is the guy, you got to be able to impact the game in other ways. I think he understands that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, the focus for Dallas must be firmly on making it into the playoffs. The plethora of moves at the deadline made their intentions of remaining competitive this season woefully clear.<\/p>\n
That could come at the expense of some playing time for Blue. But for the overall benefit of the group, Schottenheimer\u00a0has his sights firmly set on getting into a Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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