The Dallas Cowboys did one thing really well on Christmas, and it won them a ballgame. They ran the ball through the middle of the Washington Commanders defense. They trucked the middle of Washington’s defense to the tune of 211 yards.
Much of that number came from an unexpected source – Malik Davis. The running back who just keeps hanging around had a great game, running for 103 yards on 20 carries. The reason he had so many carries was injury robbed Javonte Williams of a big night. He finished with 54 yards on 13 carries. but his violent style of running leads to huge collisions, and his shoulder has been bothering him recently. He sat out over half the game.
Also surprising was where the other 54 yards of the Cowboys’ ground total came from. Hunter Luepke chipped in 30 yards on seven carries, and Dak Prescott had 24 yards on four carries. Of course those yards for Prescott mainly came because of some poor pass blocking, but the team’s run blocking on the day, especially behind the right side of the line, was top notch.
This game was likely close to the script Brian Schottenheimer would like to see in terms of the run game dictating the overall game. Sure, the competition was suspect as they played a Commanders group that was very banged up, including at the most important position. And it was telling that a Cowboys defense gave up 23 points to 39-year old Josh Johnson and the Commanders offense. One side of the ball in Dallas is in need of a massive overhaul.
The other side, the offense, needs to solve two issues this offseason on their roster. One is their pass protection, especially around the tackle positions, even though pressure up the middle was prominent on this day. Tyler Smith had his struggles outside, but who knows what he would be like if he had a whole offseason to prep for the left tackle position. Or the Cowboys could decide to keep him where they know he excels, and work with other options at tackle. Whatever they do, they have to get some semblance of order on the edges for an aging Prescott.
The other issue is at running back. Javonte Williams has been excellent this year, but he will be a free agent and we know how Dallas feels about spending money at running back. That is a strategy that plenty of teams use, but if Dallas wants to run the ball like they did in this game as a blueprint for Schottenheimer’s offense, they’ll need to invest some money there. Or hit gold in the draft. Maybe they can get Williams re-signed, but they still need to have quality backups for injury.
On the whole, though, the offense is the least of the Cowboys’ problems. We know they need a defensive rebuild, but they also need to sort out their special teams. The fact that the Cowboys can’t get some explosive returns on kick returns with KaVontae Turpin back there is criminal. And even Mr. Automatic, Brandon Aubrey, is having a late-season downer. Special teams need a massive upgrade, and a lot of that probably has to do with the coaching.
The Cowboys run game was a thing of beauty on Christmas. They won’t be able to run the ball like that all of the time in the NFL, but if you can get close, and have a decent defense, and special teams that contribute field position, you can win a lot of games.
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