The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2024 season with more pressure than any team in the NFL. After three-straight 12-win seasons under Mike McCarthy, Dallas came into this season with a clear expectation to win at least one playoff game, if not more, and make a run toward the Super Bowl.
At least that’s how owner Jerry Jones was thinking — in an offseason where he publicly stated he was “all-in” for this season, yet added almost no new talent to the Cowboys roster, despite the team losing starters on both sides of the ball and key role players from the 2023 squad.
For the entirety of the offseason, the narratives surrounding the team were focused on the future of the team’s two biggest stars, WR CeeDee Lamb and QB Dak Prescott.
In typical Jerry Jones fashion, he sat on his hands while the rest of the league gave their star receivers and QBs record-breaking contracts. Finally, with just 5 days left in August, the Cowboys agreed to a four-year, $136 million extension with Lamb. He received $100 million guaranteed and a wide receiver-record $38 million signing bonus, while becoming the second-highest paid non QB in the league behind Justin Jefferson. .
And once the 2024 season kicked off and the Cowboys won their opener against the Cleveland Browns, it was announced Dallas inked a four-year, $240 million contract extension with Prescott, with $231 million guaranteed.
After give games into the new NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys have a (3-2) record and are sitting second in the NFC East, but there have been a few glaring areas of concern. Beyond Lamb — who has 378 yards and two touchdowns so far — the Cowboys offense doesn’t have many weapons to scare opposing defenses.
While Dallas currently ranks second in the NFL in passing offense, averaging 271.6 yards through the air per game, they rank 31st in rushing offense, averaging just 82 yards on the ground per game.
They have turned to veteran RB Rico Dowdle as their go-to ball-carrier, but he has just 221 yards on 54 attempts so far this season.
Dallas Cowboys Star Ezekiel Elliott Says He is” Dumfounded” With Current Role
After taking a year off from playing for the Cowboys, the biggest move the team made this offseason was bringing back RB Ezekiel Elliott, who spent 2023 playing for the New England Patriots.
But so far, Dallas has barely utilized the veteran ball-carrier.
After playing 51% of the offensive snaps for Dallas in Week 1, Elliott was on the field for 40% in Week 2 and just 19% in Week 3. He saw 18% of the snaps in Week 4 before an uptick to 30% in Week 5 last Sunday night.
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t even consistently used Elliott in goal line and short-yardage situations. Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. reported earlier this week that Elliott is frustrated with his role in 2024 so far.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott confirmed he has talked to the coaches about his role and remains dumbfounded by his lack of opportunities at least as red zone back
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) October 10, 2024
“Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott confirmed he has talked to the coaches about his role and remains dumbfounded by his lack of opportunities at least as red zone back,” Hill tweeted.
While it’s safe to say Elliott isn’t the same player he was in his younger years, it’s still a bit puzzling to see how little he has been used in an offense that’s the second-to-last rushing offense in the NFL so far.
