Can Dak Prescott keep the Dallas Cowboys afloat?
By Tim Kohut
With running back Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension reinstated, can quarterback Dak Prescott carry a flailing Dallas Cowboys team?
It’s safe to say the Dallas Cowboys have disappointed to start the year, and things aren’t looking much brighter with Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension coming back into play.
The offense hasn’t looked nearly as methodical as it was this time last year, and with their stud running back out, it will be even harder to try to duplicate the balanced attack that was so successful last season.
While the Cowboys do have three capable backs in Alfred Morris, Darren McFadden and Rod Smith to carry the load while Elliott sits, the onus falls on Dak Prescott to keep these Cowboys in the hunt for a playoff berth. With Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles looking like the real deal this season, winning the NFC East could be a long shot for Dak and the ‘Boys, albeit far from impossible.
The Cowboys will need to re-tool their offense in order to compete this season. While they should continue to pound the rock between the tackles, Scott Linehan needs to allow Dak to carry a larger load on offense. Essentially, the Cowboys’ run-first approach may need to be shelved for the time being, and Dak needs to play better than ever before.
While it might be hard to say Prescott is experiencing a sophomore slump, he certainly hasn’t made the jump many expected him to make in his second year. While he has looked good for the most part, him, along with the Cowboys offense, have disappeared for large stretches of games.
That needs to change.
While it would be superfluous for Prescott to exceed 40 pass attempts a game like he did against Denver in Week 2, the Cowboys need to take a different approach on offense. Even with Elliott on the field, the run game has been inconsistent at best.
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Thus, Dak needs to take his game to the next level with Elliott out and prove he can, in fact, put this Cowboys team on his back. That’s what franchise quarterbacks do, after all.