Dallas City News

Source: Cowboys RB Elliott out due to disciplinary reasons – Todd Archer, ESPN

Wait, what? Ezekiel Elliott will not travel with the team and is out for Sunday’s game versus Atlanta due to disciplinary reasons.

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will not play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons because of disciplinary reasons, a source told ESPN on Saturday.

Elliott was originally slated to be active for the game. He did not accompany the team on the charter flight Saturday. Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, could not be reached for comment.

This will be the first time in his career Elliott will be a healthy scratch from the lineup in a game when the Cowboys’ playoff positioning has not been settled. He was rested in the regular-season finales in 2016 and 2018 with their spot secured.

Elliott’s spot on the gameday roster was in question last week against San Francisco, although a source said he would have been active even if leading rusher Rico Dowdle did not fall ill before kickoff.

Dak Prescott honest about concerning lack of QB runs: ‘It’s bad’ – Patrik Walker, Dallascowboys.com

The Cowboys are a lacking a running element from Dak Prescott. Prescott was candid about the missing aspect of the offense.

There’s one thing Dak Prescott and Forrest Gump may never have in common. While Gump had no particular reason to take off and run, Prescott has opted to wave off that ability whenever opportunities present themselves in 2024, to the point it’s now a growing topic of discussion regarding the Dallas Cowboys.

More accurately, it’s now blown past simply being a discussion and, at this point, has become a full-blown concern that, based on the numbers, is wildly unnerving.

“It’s bad, it’s bad,” the All-Pro quarterback admitted when asked the subject following Thursday’s practice, with the Atlanta Falcons awaiting Prescott and the Cowboys in Week 9.

The first step is admitting there’s a problem, so that box is now checked.

The second step? Fixing it.

“When you’re weighing that risk — it’s when I’ve got the ball in my hands, it’s not just about that play,” he explained. “It’s about the team. the game, the momentum of it, and I’ve just gotta be better.”

Historically speaking, Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense have always performed better when the former uses his legs to help keep opposing defenses guessing and off-balance. Not doing so by way of improvisations, or even designed runs, completely deletes an aspect of potential production and makes life that much easier for defenses.

With zero threat of Prescott pulling a Gump, all teams have to do is continue stopping the Cowboys’ run (and they have been) while also making life difficult in the passing game (and they have been).

“For sure, I mean, just off the top of my head, I know I haven’t been running,” he said. “Whether it’s been the scrambles or not, a couple of play calls that could potentially be that way, just haven’t had the read. Hell, I did it one time and it wasn’t the read so, in that sense, it just happens from within the pocket [during] in the game.

“I think that’s to my point is the risk versus reward [as far as] I’m pulling some of these things down, being better in the pocket and then getting out and making something happen.”

Falcons stellar backfield duo should have a big day vs. Cowboys – Aaron Freeman, The Falcoholic

Here’s the Falcons’ perspective on how they can exploit the Cowboys.

Atlanta Falcons running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier form one of the NFL’s top running back duos. Their combined 898 rushing yards is the fourth-highest total of any teams’ top two non-quarterback rushers behind the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers. They’re so good, in fact, that it requires inventing a new, unique nickname for their complementary skill set.

They should have a favorable matchup in Week 9 because the Dallas Cowboys sport one of the league’s worst run defenses. In rushing yards allowed, they rank 31st. In yards per carry, they rank 26th. In Expected Points Allowed per rush, they are dead last, and they rank 30th in DVOAagainst the run.

It’s also a perfect matchup for Robinson and Allgeier to dominate against the Cowboys due to the Falcons featuring an outside zone run scheme. According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons lead the NFL with the highest rate of runs outside the tackles. The outside is precisely where the Cowboys’ defense struggles, allowing the highest rate of outside runs.

Robinson and Allgeier may not be alone in feasting against the Cowboys. Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud should also have ample opportunity on those outside runs. Last week, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McCloud had his longest run of the season, a 17-yard gain on an end-around. The Cowboys just gave up a 39-yard run to San Francisco 49ers wideout Ricky Pearsall on a jet sweep last week. The Falcons haven’t featured “gadget” runs with McCloud as much as expected, but perhaps this is the week where the team can find a few more opportunities for him against a vulnerable defense.

Yet, the ground game is just one path for Robinson and Allgeier to have success against the Cowboys come Sunday. Dallas has also struggled to defend running backs in the passing game, ranking 31st in DVOA allowed on passes to running backs.

The Cowboys have given up an explosive pass play of 20 or more yards to someone out of the backfield nearly every week. Last week, it wasn’t a true running back, but 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who lined up in the backfield and beat Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks for 47 yards on a wheel route. The only other week where the Cowboys didn’t give up an explosive play was against the New York Giants in Week 4, where they allowed running back Tyrone Tracy to gain only 19 yards on a screen pass.

Dallas Cowboys scouting report: Breaking down the Falcons defensive scheme – David Howman, Blogging the Boys

Decoding the Atlanta Falcons’ defense.

All of that is very present in the defense the Falcons now run, one that looks very similar to what they ran just a few years ago when Quinn was still the head coach. That is to say that the Falcons primarily operate with five defensive backs, with one of the highest rates of nickel packages in the league. They don’t blitz much, only ranking 20th in blitz rate, and present a light box at the eighth-highest rate. This is a defense that sells out to rush the passer, primarily with just four defenders, and often encourages offenses to run the ball on them.

One area where Morris has always differed from Quinn comes on the back end. Whereas Quinn preferred to play with the middle of the field closed off, usually running Cover 1 or Cover 3, Morris has always adhered to the two-deep safety shells that have become more widely adopted in recent years. Morris and Lake utilize zone coverage at one of the highest rates in the league, a trend that has followed Morris throughout his career.

So far, the results haven’t been great in Atlanta. They currently rank 21st in defensive DVOA and 23rd in EPA/play. The secondary has been especially susceptible, giving up 6.3 passing yards per play, which coincidentally is tied with Quinn’s Commanders for 11th worst in the league. One major reason for the poor pass defense is the fact that Atlanta is dead last in the NFL in both pressure rate and sacks.

That’s allowed quarterbacks plenty of time to find open receivers in the zone coverage, with opposing quarterbacks throwing into a tight window on just 11.2% of their throws. For context, only four starting quarterbacks are averaging less than that on the year; in other words, Atlanta is letting guys get wide open a lot. Dak Prescott currently leads the league in tight window throws, so things should get easier for him against this secondary. The word “should” is doing a lot of work, though.

This figures to be a game where the Cowboys offense could really get their mojo back. Atlanta simply doesn’t get to the quarterback, they refuse to blitz as a means of compensating, and their secondary is getting eaten alive because of it. Prescott seemingly got back in rhythm with CeeDee Lamb this past week, which should help open things up elsewhere, especially against this secondary. However, the offense has been stagnant all year.