“That’s an exaggeration,” Jones said. “Stunned is an exaggeration, a mischaracterization. It’s a poor description of how he thinks about things. He’s very aware of the part of the ongoing game he’s involved in. But more importantly – and I can’t say this enough emphasize – – we save him, and we should. We want him because Rico (Dowdle) is an excellent running back. He’s had injuries throughout his career. It would be crazy to to rely solely on him for the duration of the season and the play-offs.

“Zeke is there, he will be there, because we want to protect him as much as possible at this particular time.”

So far this season, Elliott has had 30 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, while averaging just six totes and 19.6 yards per game. Meanwhile, Dowdle, who spent time as Elliott’s backup in Dallas from 2020 to 2022, has gotten the higher number of snaps and has collected 54 rushes for 221 yards so far, more than double Elliott’s yards per game. While he has a history of injuries, as Jones mentioned, he has avoided missed games thus far.

With former Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook also waiting in the wings of the practice squad, there is certainly talent in abundance in Dallas, but only so many carries available to distribute.

While Jones said there is no “bright line” regarding decisions on how much each player gets the ball, he did note that the unit has struggled as a group, with the Cowboys ranked 31st in the league. in rushing yards per game, averaging just 82. yards per game with a team average of 3.5 yards per carry. Whether that could lead to a different distribution of bins or just indicates a need for improvement overall, Jones is aware that if his team wants to achieve the kind of success they’ve seen down the road and in the playoffs, the need for a strong run game cannot be met. ignored.

“If we have an effective running game, you’re going to see an offense that’s probably the talk of the NFL,” Jones said. “Because that’s the barometer, you’ve got to run the ball. That’s as common as having to turn on the lights when you’re playing a night game. You’ve got to run the ball, you’ve got to be effective in the running game.

“If we start to become effective in the running game and complement the passing, we will be able to have the ball more on the attacking side of the ball and we will be able to keep the defense off the field, which is always an issue .” winning formula.”

The road ahead won’t get any easier, however, as the Cowboys’ Week 6 opponent, the Detroit Lions, was one of the best at defending against the run, ranking fourth in the league at just 90.8 yards per game.

The Cowboys and Lions kick off Sunday at 4:25 PM ET in Dallas.