The Cowboys season finished last year with a heart-breaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round. You can’t consider that a disappointment for a team who at the beginning of the season thought they were doomed without Dallas hero Tony Romo. That injury may have been a blessing in disguise as a new savior in Rookie Dak Prescott emerged from the ashes. So too did a new Cowboys back field legend emerge in Ezekiel Elliot. The Cowboys did the most important thing they could do in this off-season, keep this young talented group of players together.
Tony Romo shocked the world in late March when he announced he would not be playing for the Broncos or Texans and instead retiring a Cowboy. With Romo gone now there is no back up plan the brunt of the load falls squarely on Dak Prescott, and he has proven he can handle it. Time after time situation after situation last year Dak showed that he was more than cut for the role of a Dallas underdog who could be a champion for the city.
Prescott will play behind one of the best offensive lines in the league if not the best in Cowboys history. Jerry Jones does not let prize linemen walk in free agency and with the exception of swing tackle Ronald Leary that remained true this off season. This Dallas line will have to continues to dominate the line of scrimmage and dumbfound defensive linemen as they play one of the best pass rushing divisions in the NFL, the AFC West, this year.
Running behind that offensive line, powder keg Ezekiel Elliot. Elliot holds the key to a more than mediocre Cowboys season. If he can stay healthy and out of trouble the running game can make the Cowboys Serious Super Bowl contenders. That’s a big if though, Elliot’s offseason has been filled with traffic violations, drunken nights, reports of sexual assault at a parade, and a bar fight. Not to mention Elliot is still being investigated for Domestic Abuse claims from a year ago. If any of the incidents result in legal action or video is released I would be shocked if Elliot was suspended for anything less than 3-4 games.
If Elliot is suspended that leaves the Cowboys with a massive problem. It’s not that Dak can’t win football games on his own its that Elliot keeps the Cowboys horrific defense off the field so they can’t lose games for Dallas. The Cowboys made no major moves on defense this offseason that is a problem for years the problem in Dallas was the offense now that they have that fixed their defense consistently ranks as one of the worst in the league.
The Cowboys fate depends on one thing and one thing alone. Keeping Zeke on the field and the ball in the hands of the Cowboys’ offense.
