The Dallas Cowboys are a team with numerous problems.

Running the ball is mainly part of that. The Cowboys rank last in the NFL with 77.2 rushing yards per game, an anchor for an offense expected to be explosive with Dak Prescott throwing the ball to All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Instead, the Cowboys are ranked 20th in the league (21 points per game) and recently lost for the third time in three home games in an embarrassing 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions. It comes down to an increasingly excited Jerry Jones as the Cowboys owner makes his regular media rounds.

Jerry Jones talks to Derrick Henry

On Tuesday, Jones addressed the Cowboys run game during his weekly radio appearance with 105.3 The Fan. He did so Monday night fresh off another showcase by a Baltimore Ravens offense that featured running back Derrick Henry, who was a free agent this offseason and available for the Cowboys to pursue.

Jones explained Tuesday why he doesn’t believe Henry would be a difference-maker for the Cowboys this season.

Jones then seemed to acknowledge that the Ravens have a superior offensive plan than the Cowboys.

Derrick Henry was a steal in Baltimore

Henry added his league-best total with 169 yards in Baltimore’s 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. His 81-yard romp in the third quarter was more yards than the Cowboys average on the ground per game.

It contributed to a rushing attack that is the best in the league, averaging a whopping 210.9 yards on the ground per game. That’s more than 55 yards per play better than the league’s second-best run, with an explosive Lions offense.

Henry signed with the Ravens for two years and $16 million. It’s a relative pittance compared to his production and the value he brings to Baltimore. But due to a league that has suppressed the value for even the best running backs in the game, in addition to Henry’s advanced age for his position — 30 years old — he signed as one of the biggest bargains of the offseason.

Should the Cowboys have pursued Henry?

The Cowboys, meanwhile, reclaimed Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year contract worth $2 million guaranteed. It was an optimistic deal at best for the running back, who hasn’t averaged more than four yards per carry since 2021 and hasn’t looked like a difference-maker since starting behind one of the nation’s best offensive lines early in his first stint in Dallas. competition was running.

Elliott joined a backfield that featured Rico Dowdle that has never run for more than 361 yards in a season or averaged more than 4.2 yards per carry. In short, the Cowboys have a few guys running behind an offensive line that no longer resembles one of the league’s best. And that is reflected on the field.

Should the Cowboys have pursued Henry this offseason? Jones explained Monday that the decision not to do so was simply a salary cap calculation.

The Cowboys prioritized signing Prescott and Lamb to long-term deals and will face a contract decision with linebacker Micah Parsons next season. These are all deals that Dallas should prioritize.

But it’s hard to look at Henry’s production in the Baltimore versus the Cowboys season thus far and conclude that Dallas is better off not having pursued Henry for less than $10 million per season.