FRISCO, Texas – A week removed from their best performance on the ground all season, the Cowboys' run game was nowhere to be found against the Detroit Lions.
Rico Dowdle, who had a career high 87 yards on 20 carries against Pittsburgh, was Dallas' leading rusher with 25 yards on five carries. Ezekiel Elliott was behind him with 17 yards on eight carries, and the offense finished with 53 total rushing yards on 17 carries. It was the second lowest rushing total of the season for the Cowboys.
While Dallas couldn't get anything out of their backs, the offensive line wasn't doing their part to help either.
"I think that we got to take a look at what we're doing run blocking first," head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game. "I don't think we gave those guys clean looks today."
The Cowboys switched up their starting group on the offensive line, moving Tyler Smith to left tackle and T.J. Bass to left guard, removing rookie Tyler Guyton from his starting position at left tackle. It was this same group that finished out the game in Pittsburgh after Guyton left the game with an injury, and it may still be lingering.
"Tyler Guyton is not 100 percent," McCarthy said when asked about his decision to start Smith at left tackle. "I think if you saw there at the end we went to Asim Richards over him. So that's just kind of where he is medically."
Even when the Cowboys get their many key contributors back healthy, it won't mean anything if there's still an absence in the run game. Against Detroit, part of the issue was not relying on it enough. The Cowboys ran the ball just eight times in the first half for 14 yards, good for 1.8 yards per carry. That led to Dak Prescott having to throw the ball 20 times, completing 11 passes for 115 yards and an interception.
"It doesn't help when you get down in a game, obviously. And you see the other offense rolling as they are," Prescott said. "It's a good time for the bye week and for us to figure that out, honestly."
While the Cowboys did find themselves in a hole early, the rushing attack was essentially abandoned after Detroit went up 17-3 with 11:39 remaining in the second quarter. Dallas ran just once after Sam LaPorta scored a 52-yard touchdown, and the lone carry by Ezekiel Elliott went for no gain. That just about sums up the night the Cowboys had on the ground, and it threw them all out of sorts.
"Not getting the run game really kind of put us on our heels. And that's not fair for our alignment," McCarthy said. "But you know, the combination of run and pass is where you want to be. But once again, I think [Detroit] were ahead of us at the line of scrimmage."
The Detroit defensive line generated four sacks, five tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hurries against the Cowboys offensive line, dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Another issue was turning the ball over five times, three via interception and the other two on fumbles, something McCarthy did not shy away from.
"Our turnover ratio is as low as I can ever remember it here. That's not who I am as a head coach, and that's not where we invest our time," McCarthy said. "You have to have ROI. I don't care what level of football you play. Football's not going to change, and that's why they call it football. And we're not taking care of the football, and we're definitely not taking it away. We need to improve there."
A frustrating loss as it is only grew more frustrating with the Cowboys knowing they have the talented needed in the backfield to be successful. Yet all around as a unit thus far, they just haven't been able to put it together consistently.
"Knowing the people that we have in the room, the experience and the type of guys that we have, we've got to be better…" Prescott said. "There's a lot when you get the run game going that you're able to do off of that."
With pressure everywhere on the offense to get things right, there needs to be alleviation somewhere to open things up, and it starts up front.
"It's hard to stick to the run that way. You're putting pressure on the offensive line. Just drop back, pass protection play-after-play against two great pass rushers…" Prescott said. "But it starts with us. We're putting ourselves in that hole."
The Cowboys head to a much-needed bye week looking to get healthy and find their footing before going on the road to play the San Francisco 49ers, who are ninth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed this season with 606.
