Ezekiel Elliott will not play in the Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Cowboys reportedly made the veteran running back inactive for the upcoming game due to disciplinary reasons.
Former Fox Sports analyst and lifelong Cowboys fan Skip Bayless did not hesitate to criticize Elliott after the team’s latest decision.
Skip Bayless Sounds off on Ezekiel Elliott
Elliott signed a one-year, $2 million deal to return to the Cowboys this offseason but has failed to make any impact. He is averaging a career-low 3.1 yards per carry and has played 35% of the total snaps for the team.
“Not at all surprised Zeke was left home for disciplinary reasons,” said Bayless. “He’s done, should not have been brought back. Now that they’re 3-4, he’s unhappy and probably making waves. Cowboys better off going 3D: Dowdle, Dalvin & Deuce.”
Ezekiel Elliott will not be active vs. Atlanta and will not make the trip with the Cowboys because of disciplinary reasons, according to a source. First time he is a healthy scratch in a non-season finale in his career.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 2, 2024
Since the offseason, Bayless constantly pressured the Cowboys to sign Derrick Henry or draft a running back. The NFC East franchise didn’t do either and brought back Elliott.
Henry has flourished in Baltimore and is an MVP candidate this season, whereas Elliott has struggled to keep his place on the team and will now be a healthy inactive.
The Cowboys are 3-4 on the season and will rely on Dalvin Cook, Deuce Vaughn, and Rico Dowdle against the Falcons in Week 9. Jerry Jones’ decisions have cost the team this year, and they are likely to miss the playoffs.
Cowboys’ Running Game Has Been a Disaster
Based on the organization’s decisions in the offseason, everyone knew that the Cowboys did not have a good running game. The expectations were set low for the current group of running backs, and surprisingly, they have performed even worse than many would have thought of.
Dallas is averaging a league-worst 74.1 rushing yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry this season. Dowdle, their primary running back, has rushed for 246 yards on 59 carries in six games and has not scored a touchdown yet. Elliott is their only running back who has scored a touchdown this season, but as mentioned earlier, he is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry on 48 rush attempts.
Vaughn has rushed for 20 yards on seven carries, while Cook, who made his Cowboys debut last week, has six carries for 12 yards this season. Due to Dallas’ inability to run the ball, Dak Prescott is also not playing well, as he has thrown eight interceptions in seven games this season.
CeeDee Lamb has also not played at the level that he did last season, and it all comes down to the Cowboys owner’s decision not to improve at the running back position. Had Dallas signed Henry, they would still have been a Super Bowl contender.
If the Cowboys lose to the Falcons this week, they might consider being sellers at Tuesday’s trade deadline; with its present roster, Dallas cannot contend this year.
It will be interesting to see what Jones does after this season. Not only does he have to upgrade the roster, but he’ll also have to hire a new head coach since Mike McCarthy is in the final year of his contract.