Embarrassing stat highlights how badly Cowboys botched offseason

There's no way the Dallas Cowboys could have handled their running back situation worse than they did this offseason.

Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves in need of a new running back after electing to let Tony Pollard walk in free agency. On the heels of two straight 1,000-yard campaigns, Pollard signed a three-year deal worth $24 million with the Tennessee Titans.

Dallas wasn't willing to pay for Pollard, nor were they willing to go after anyone else in free agency who was seen as a capable starter.

Instead, they brought back Ezekiel Elliott after he spent one season with the New England Patriots and put him in a running back-by-committee approach with Rico Dowdle, and Deuce Vaughn.

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Through the first four games of the season, it's clear that this plan isn't working. It's such a failure that Pollard has more yards with the Titans than the three running backs — and the fullback — have in Dallas combined.

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— Coles Cowboys (@ColesCowboys) October 3, 2024

The worst part about this is that Pollard isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. He has yet to top 100 yards in a game and in Week 3, he managed just 14 yards against the Green Bay Packers.

Sep 30, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs with the football against the Miami Dolphins. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Still, his average of 61.5 yards per game is superior to what the Cowboys' top four backs have done.

Dallas, who is dead last in the league in rushing, is led by Rico Dowdle's134 yards. Elliott is second with 81 yards and has the only touchdown out of the group — which was scored in Week 1. Vaughn contributed 20 yards thus far and Hunter Luepke has eight on two attempts.

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Jerry Jones claims the Cowboys couldn't afford a veteran running back such as Derrick Henry, which isn't exactly true. It also isn't the only way they could have addressed the situation. The Cowboys not only skipped on a starting caliber back in free agency but passed on several options in the draft as well.

They believed they could make do with a group of average players and so far, that's proven to be an embarrassing blunder.

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