Dallas Cowboys: Put Ezekiel Elliott on Injured Reserve

It’s time for the Dallas Cowboys front office to focus on next year and that means preserving Ezekiel Elliott.

No matter how you slice it, 2020 is a lost season for the Dallas Cowboys. The 2-6 Dallas Cowboys are playing their worst football of the season right now, they’re on a three-game losing streak and on pace for a top-5 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

It doesn’t matter the Dallas Cowboys play in the most winnable division in football, without their league MVP candidate Dak Prescott under center, there’s no hope of turning this train wreck around. With news that Ezekiel Elliott is now nursing a hamstring that may prevent him from playing Sunday and could linger beyond the bye week, it’s time to reexamine the situation in 2020 and focus on games that matter (i.e. the 2021 season).

Riding Zeke unnecessarily hard this season does nothing to help the Dallas Cowboys win meaningful games. Because if we’re being honest, the next meaningful game the Dallas Cowboys are going to play won’t be until 2021.

Cowboys OC Kellen Moore said it's a "wait-and-see thing" on how much RB Ezekiel Elliott (hamstring) can do Sunday vs. Steelers. Confident in the depth behind him.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 6, 2020

With the bye coming up next week and a credible runner waiting in the wings at RB2, giving Zeke the day off seems like the smart course of action. Such a move would give him two full weeks to rest his hammy and give fans a glimpse of what Tony Pollard can do in the lead role.

But with the season effectively lost and all eyes to future, what’s the point in even bringing Elliott back then? Troy Aikman recently stated he thinks the wear and tear are catching up with Zeke, and that’s why his numbers have been in steady decline.

It’s hard to argue with what he said, no matter how painful it is to hear. We broached the subject before the season. Defenders simply don’t fear Zeke like they used to. Last season 25 running backs faced 8+ defenders more often than Zeke, dispelling the narrative that teams scheme to stop Zeke and dare Dak Prescott to beat them. The numbers have shown it’s really the other way around.

With Dak Prescott now out for the season and and a revolving door of single-callers working in relief, teams are focusing on the only credible threat Dallas has – Zeke.

In'19 Ezekiel Elliott faced 8+defenders in the box 19.27% of the time (26th in NFL). Last week without a credible threat at QB that 8+D number jumped to 52.63% (2nd in NFL) per @NextGenStats Tough road ahead for Zeke the rest of this season... #CowboysNation #DallasCowboys
— Reid D Hanson (@ReidDHanson) November 7, 2020

The wear and tear Zeke is set up to needlessly withstand this season is significant. Last week Zeke ran into the box more often than ever before. I don’t have to explain how running head first into a brick wall can take a toll on the long-term health of an athlete.