One thing in the Dallas Cowboys’ “Texas Coast Offense” that didn’t click this season was the running game – at least not at the expected level.
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After Ezekiel Elliott was moved on and the keys were handed to Tony Pollard , the expectation was for the Cowboys rushing attack to be a focal point of Mike McCarthy’s offense. In fact, McCarthy said as much.
But it failed to get going and a shift in attacking mindset after Week 5 thanks to the brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers, saw the Cowboys opt for a more pass-oriented approach.
Dallas finished 15th in rushing yards per game (113.5), which was a worse return than 2022 (131.7). The Cowboys lost on average, just over 20 yards per game with Pollard as the lead back compared to last season.
In four of the Cowboys five regular-season losses, they were held to under 100 yards rushing as the “complementary football” that McCarthy preached all season was tough to maintain weekly.