The Cowboys' running game wasn't spectacular in Week 1, but it was good enough ✭ Inside The Star

Findings

Ezekiel Elliott was the lead back on Sunday at least. He ran 10 times for 40 yards and found the end zone. That was entertaining to watch.

Zeke struggled to make a jump cut or get into the second round against the Browns, but I figured that's exactly what we'd see.

Rico Dowdle ran eight times for 26 yards. They took turns almost every other possession.

As Mike McCarthy said over the summer, this team will be a running back by committee. I would have liked to have seen Deuce Vaughn touch the ball more than once. He gained four yards on his only run.

If you want to keep him in the squad, use him.

This team's best running game is the jet sweeps they run for CeeDee Lamb and sometimes Brandin Cooks. Lamb was called three times and managed 25 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per attempt.

As the game went on, I expected more and more from the running backs, but we have to understand what this team is capable of out there. Honestly, I'm taking 4 yards per carry. I thought it would be less.

What I'm most happy about is that they had no trouble getting the ball into the red zone when they got there. From first and goal just inside the five, the first run went to Zeke for the goal.

So refreshing.

Ezekiel Elliott played well in his first game back with the Cowboys

First half: 8 touches, 41 yards, TD pic.twitter.com/siLHfZbMrI

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) 8 September 2024