Zeke Elliott appears to have lost the trust of Dallas Cowboys coaches. Justifiably.
The most encouraging detail for Ezekiel Elliott in his career-worst season is that he’s not sustained an injury, that we know of.
Had the Dallas Cowboys running back suffered an injured hamstring, or some leg injury, concerns that “Zeke is finished” would be at panic levels.
We are not there, but we’re close.
We are close because it’s growing evident his coaches don’t trust him.
The only facts Zeke, and the entire Jones family, can use as an excuse why Zeke’s production has plummeted to guy-off-the-street levels is because of his offensive line, and that he’s playing with a variety of backup quarterbacks.
The Cowboys defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Cincy, 30-7, in what was a quasi-homecoming for Zeke, who played his college ball at Ohio State.
Against the Bengals, with the exception of one single run, Zeke looked little like the player who owned Columbus and was the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
He didn’t look as good as his backup, Tony Pollard.
The Cowboys have a load of issues to address once this horrid season ends, among them what to do with the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
The six-year, $90 million contract Zeke signed before the start of the 2019 season grows costlier with every one of his 2-yard carries, of which now are the gold standard.
Among the problems, Zeke’s coaches no longer trust that their starting running back can go get anything.
Unlike previous head coach Jason Garrett, who would run Zeke in any scenario, new head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore don’t have the same conviction.
Nor should they.
Never was that more evident than in the third quarter on Sunday in Cincy when the Cowboys had a first-and-goal at the 3-yard line early in the third quarter.
On first down, Zeke ran for one yard. The next two calls were pass plays for Andy Dalton, the preseason backup, and both fell incomplete. The highest-paid running back in the NFL did not get a carry with the ball two yards away from a touchdown.
The Cowboys settled for a field goal, and took a 20-7 lead.
If there was a game when Zeke could get some stats, and pad his otherwise terrible numbers, Sunday would have been that game.
The Bengals are one of the worst teams in the NFL, with a defense that had allowed the seventh-most yards in the league.
Their rushing defense was the 29th in the league. If you can’t run on the Bengals, you can’t run.
All told, Zeke ran it 12 times for 48 yards. He caught two passes for seven yards.
The only reason his numbers looked as good as they did was because he broke off a 26-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. On that carry, the line blocked, and Zeke showed that wiggle that once made him so good, and so feared.
It was only the second time this season he’s had a play of more than 20 yards.
The 103-yard running game he had against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 22 was an aberration. The norm for Zeke this season is about 55 yards and a cloud of disappointment.
He averages just about 60 yards per game on the ground, easily the worst of his five NFL seasons.
He remains a brilliant blocker, but the burst and speed that made him so feared in his first few years in the NFL appears to be gone. This happens all the time to NFL running backs.
Five years is not atypical to see the production slide.
The Cowboys are not going to cut Zeke, but they may ask him to re-do his contract. He should say no.
With injuries to Dak Prescott and the entire offensive line, the Cowboys are going to use that as the reasons/excuses why Zeke’s production is so poor.
There is some legitimacy to that, but not to this extent.
The Cowboys overpaid Zeke, because that’s what Jerry Jones does. And this is just what happens to NFL running backs.
Ezekiel Elliott’s regular-season career 100-yard games
| Season | Games played | 100-yard games |
| 2016 | 15 | 7 |
| 2017 | 10 | 5 |
| 2018 | 15 | 7 |
| 2019 | 16 | 7 |
| 2020 | 13 | 1 |
| Total | 69 | 27 |
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 5:23 PM.
