'Zeke Who'? Grading Cowboys RBs in Post-Elliott Era at Giants

Life without Ezekiel Elliott got off to a good start as the Dallas Cowboys rusher fulfilled everything asked of them in the 40-0 dismantling of the New York Giants.

Feeding Zeke has been relegated to permanent fasting. In the first time out in the post Ezekiel Elliott era, the Dallas Cowboys' offense remained relatively healthy. 

Defense ruled the night in the Cowboys' 40-0 dismantling of the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium but such dramatics would've meant nothing if the offense was unable to do anything about it. Despite a few slight hiccups (i.e. turning to two Brandon Aubrey field goals), the offense did its job and capitalized on nearly every opportunity granted to it, creating one of the most dominant efforts in recent Dallas memory.

And one facet of it? The reiterated question of Zeke Who?'' ... which was once a slight from owner Jerry Jones of Elliott during contract negotiations - before becoming a fun t-shirt.

It was a successful affair for head coach Mike McCarthy's return to playcalling, one unaffected by New Jersey precipitation that served as the closest thing to dampening the Cowboys' enthusiasm.

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"Like anything, because of the weather, we had to adjust," McCarthy said in the aftermath. "There are always going to be things I want to do better. It’s no different tonight. We had a couple of things but I thought it was a relatively clean game.”

That included the running game, which went through its first Ezekiel Elliott-free endeavor since the meaningless final stages of the 2015 campaign. There's not much to complain about in the wake of the destruction: Tony Pollard averaged five yards a carry en route to two scores, Dak Prescott made good decisions on a modest day (13-of-24, 143 yards, no scores or picks), and even preseason hero Deuce Vaughn got in on the fun, uniting with Rico Dowdle to help run out the clock after KaVontae Turpin's seven-yard tally capped off scoring.

Pollard proved well-worthy of handling Dallas' top-rushing duties last season but questions perhaps could've been raised about his status after a momentum-shifting injury kept him out of the latter stages of a Divisional playoff loss in San Francisco last winter. Hints of the dual-threat mastery displayed since arriving from Memphis in 2019 were buried under defensive domination however, as Pollard tallied 70 yards on 14 carries before adding a dozen yards on two catches. 

"You could really feel Tony the last couple of weeks,’’ McCarthy said. “In the 9-on-7 and the team runs, you knew he was back. I thought he did some really good things."

The run game was highly depended upon for the sweetest of reasons in the end, as the Cowboys (1-0) allowed reserves to have run of the field. Such Dallas demolition was punctuated by the first NFL touchdown for the ex-New Jersey General Turpin, who "returned" to Garden State football in style with the closer. 

Turpin, well-regarded for his abilities in the return game, hardly hid his desires to make an impact on the Cowboys' more traditional offensive affairs over the offseason. The postgame aftermath allowed him to express his gratitude for the opportunity.

"We've got a lot of playmakers on this team," Turpin said on the Cowboys' official site. "It feels good to be a part of this offense and we've got a lot of guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands. I was able to get in there (end zone) tonight. It's a great feeling."

Turpin as a running back, and room for Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke all playing a role behind Pollard in this game? With no disrespect to the grand things Elliott did in a Dallas uniform ... it is indeed a great feeling in Dallas.

Zeke is now in New England, playing for a Patriots team that comes to AT&T Stadium on Oct. 1. But of more immediate concern is the next chance for Pollard and friends to build on momentum, which features another metropolitan opponent, as the Cowboys battle the New York Jets in next Sunday's Week 2 action (3:25 p.m. CT, CBS).