Can Ezekiel Elliott break the single season rushing record?
By Ray Valverde
Can Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott accomplish the ultimate goal and break the NFL’s single season rushing record?
The Dallas Cowboys have invested heavily to insure they could dominate the trenches and rush the football at will. Offensive linemen Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin were all drafted in the first round by the Cowboys.
NFL experts had projected offensive lineman La’el Collins to also be a first round talent. Yet just before the 2015 draft, questions arose about the former LSU product and his involvement in the murder of a former girlfriend. He went undrafted and owner Jerry Jones charmed Collins into signing a deal with the Cowboys.
The very next year in the 2016 draft, the Cowboys selected running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick. In all, the Cowboys have used four first round picks to ensure the running game would succeed.
Elliott would finish his rookie season with 1,631 yards rushing in 15 games. There was buzz that he may break former running back Eric Dickerson‘s single season rookie rushing record. A slow start and the resting of many starters in the final two games left Zeke short.
Heading into Elliott’s sophomore season in the NFL there are enormous expectations for him and the offensive line. Can the Cowboys offensive line dominate again and lead Ezekiel to the single season rushing record held by Dickerson?
In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards and has held the record for most rushing yards in a season for over 30 years. Reviewing stats alone it would seem Elliott is almost 500 yards away from breaking that record, but this year may be the “perfect storm” to help him achieve that record.
In 15 games Elliott averaged 108 yards per game, which would leave him 23 yards shy of Dickerson’s average during his record-breaking year. Some say “the numbers don’t lie” but they certainly aren’t saying everything.
Elliott struggled in the first two weeks adjusting to the pace of an NFL game. Week one he carried the ball 20 times for 51 yards and Week two he carried the ball 21 times for 83 yards. Zeke shouldn’t need any time adjusting in the 2017 season. So we can throw those two games out, for argument’s sake.
The Cowboys had home field advantage wrapped up quickly and rested many of their starters beginning in Week 16. Elliott only carried the ball 12 times for 80 yards in a meaningless game for the Cowboys Week 16 against Detroit.
The next week against Philadelphia he didn’t see the field once, which is already removed from his average. With the Cowboys facing a significantly tougher schedule in 2017 they may be battling all the way down the stretch, forcing the starters to play an entire season.
Removing Weeks 1, 2, and 16 would bring Elliott’s totals to 1,417 yards in 12 games, an average of 118 yards rushing per game. This would leave Zeke a mere 13 yards away from Dickerson’s average per game.
Elliott averaged over five yards per carry the entire 2016 season, so in order to gain those extra 13 yards he would only need to carry the ball three more times per game. Those three carries shouldn’t be hard to find in an offense that relies heavily on the run.
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The Dallas Cowboys have an offensive line in its prime that has shown they can control the line of scrimmage at will. Ezekiel Elliott will look to “feed” off last years success while aiming straight for the Super Bowl; and maybe stumbling upon Dickerson’s single season rushing record in the process.