Cowboys Week 13 vs. Saints: The good, bad, and ugly

Cowboys vs Saints: The ugly

I don’t think it is alarmist at all to say that the Cowboys run game is broken. Now, there are factors that are out of their control, like both position coaches missing this game due to COVID or the start running back dealing with an injury, but it goes beyond all that.

Simply put, the biggest problems are that the line is not blocking well and the play-calling has become unimaginative. These problems can be fixed to some degree and need to be, quickly, or else this season will end sooner than it should.

A few weeks ago, guard Connor Williams was benched mostly due to his penchant for penalties. In his stead, interior lineman Connor McGovern was put into the mix. The reviews, so far, have been mixed.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem is that his play, along with center Tyler Biadasz, is the biggest cause for concern. Having two struggling players lined up next to each other is really hampering the run production.

It also is not helping that the Cowboys continue to attack the interior of opposing run defenses. All too often, the overwhelming majority of run plays have been designed to go in between the tackles.

During this stretch of difficulty, it’s not a coincidence that the two most successful plays have come on runs to the outside, both coming from running back Tony Pollard. Even his fellow backfield mate, Ezekiel Elliott, had his best run when going off tackle. Obviously, you cannot do just one thing but it sure seems like incorporating some different blocking schemes and run calls is in desperate need for this team.