Very few, if any, Dallas Cowboys position battles had more attention in Saturday's preseason-opening win than the backup running back competition.
Brian Schottenheimer noted on Friday that Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah were locked in a "tight" battle and would carry a heavy workload against Seattle. That proved true in the first half as the duo handled every snap, though the ground attack struggled to generate much traction.
The offensive line certainly didn't cover itself in glory, but then why did Malik Davis have so much success with his touches in the second half? Despite not receiving a carry until the third quarter, Davis paced the Cowboys with 39 rushing yards on 5.6 yards per carry.
Consider the RB2 battle turned on its head. And Davis needed just one preseason game to do it.
Malik Davis might just be the Dallas Cowboys' second-best running back
Is it possible we galaxy-brained the running back position this offseason?
It’s natural to gravitate toward younger backs, especially draft picks like Blue and Mafah, whose upside inherently outpaces a finished product like Davis (no disrespect intended). In the Cowboys' perfect world, one of them would have taken the proverbial bull by the horns by now and locked down the job. That just hasn't materialized.
It admittedly took a minute for the Cowboys' backup OL to settle in, but the run game had noticeably more juice with Davis in the backfield. That kind of says it all, does it not?
Leveraging his veteran instincts, the 27year-old had a couple of pretty jump cuts to dodge defenders behind the line. He showcased sharp vision and quick feet to turn potential short-gainers into positive yardage. His decisiveness and burst through the hole were impossible to miss.
Malik Davis' consistency is exactly where Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah fall short
While Blue showed the shame burst, he doesn't have any power in his game. Both Blue and Mafah were more efficient as pass-catchers. The second-year RBs combined to carry 12 times for 28 yards, equating to a lowly 2.3 yards per carry.
It's worth noting that Mafah departed early with a chest injury and did not return. He only received four touches, and it stands to reason that Dallas wanted to get him more work than that.
Hopefully, the team was just being cautious with the former Clemson star, but it goes without saying that any spell on the sidelines would be detrimental to Mafah's hopes of winning the job.
That sound you hear is the door creeping open for Davis, who also had a couple of awesome reps in pass protection. The fifth-year pro is also trusted as a returner and as a protector in the punting operation.
He's just a solid player with a sneaky burst who's capable of following blocks and making a defender or two miss. That's all Dallas really needs behind Javonte Williams.
The answer might have been right in front of us the entire time.
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