The Cowboys are using Ezekiel Elliott less than they ever have before

We should be feeding Zeke.

When the Cowboys have experienced success in recent seasons it’s come by way of Ezekiel Elliott.

Feeding Zeke is typically a prosperous endeavor for America’s Team, that lesson was learned in an intense way during his six-game suspension last season. Elliott is the best playmaker on the Cowboys offense and he should be utilized as such. We can all agree there.

The Dallas Cowboys are 1-2, and a lot of it is because of how predictable they are with Zeke. They run him on first down, run on second and long, basically any time Zeke gets the ball the entire stadium knows it’s coming.

This presents a problem for Cowboys offensive coaches because they have to learn to adapt, something they haven’t been very good at in recent history. They have to find creative ways of using Zeke a lot, and they simply haven’t done that this season. In fact they haven’t used Zeke all that much when compared to his short history on the team.

Ezekiel Elliott has 48 carries through three games. That’s the fewest through any three-game stretch throughout his career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Ezekiel Elliott has 48 carries this season:
- Week 1, 15
- Week 2, 17
- Week 3, 16

48 is easily the lowest three-game total of his career. He had never gone back to back games with less than 20 before this season began.

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 24, 2018

As noted, Zeke had never gone back-to-back games with less than 20 carries before this season. He’s even done that twice now over these last three weeks. While the Cowboys are struggling to pass the ball they’re also veering away from what they’ve done best which is feeding Ezekiel Elliott.

It’s fair to note that Dallas has faced some formidable fronts in Carolina and Seattle, but that never stopped them from pounding the rock with Elliott before. It’s almost as if the Cowboys are trying to be unpredictable but in turn have become predictable in that capacity.

There’s no reason why Ezekiel Elliott should ever be fed less than 20 times per game. The Cowboys drafted him with the fourth overall pick just two years ago. Feed him, please.

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