Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys ground game could be a team effort in 2025.
The Dallas Cowboys might look a little different this year, and one thing we are hoping takes on a whole new identity is their rushing attack. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer has preached its significance and plans to make it a point of emphasis this year, which is why the team also added two of the best offensive line coaches in football with the hires of offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and offensive line coach Conor Riley. You might say these guys are the Cowboys' new three-headed monster in charge of fixing the run game.
While coaching will be a huge determinant in whether or not the team improves on the ground, there could be another three-headed monster to keep an eye on once the ball is snapped. And those heads are the three running backs who take on the workload in the Cowboys' offense this year.
As it stands now, the veteran Javonte Williams is in line to get the early down work, while we expect rookie Jaydon Blue to be that burst of energy that shows up often. The team also has another veteran in Miles Sanders, and another rookie in Phil Mafah, and we could see a situation where a full-blown committee handles the work in the backfield. Why might we expect it to go down that way?
When you look over Schottenheimer’s history as offensive coordinator, there are a couple of seasons that caught our attention. In 2009, when he was with the Jets in New York, they led the league in rushing yards, but they achieved this by contributions from three different running backs. Thomas Jones (1,402) saw the bulk of the work, while Shonn Greene (540 yards) and Leon Washington (331 yards) were sprinkled in as well.
Nine years later, in 2018, when he was the offensive coordinator in Seattle, the Seahawks led the league in rushing yards. Similarly, they incorporated a three-man group consisting of Chris Carson (1,151 yards), Mike Davis (514 yards), and Rashaad Penny (419 yards).
Whether he was on the East Coast or in the Pacific Northwest, Schottenheimer was able to utilize an assortment of runners to establish a strong ground attack. And it wasn’t just from sheer volume. Both of those squads mentioned were in the top five in rushing efficiency in their respective years.
Over the last 25 seasons, starting at the year 2000, there has only been one season where the Cowboys had a similarly balanced trio of runners, where the RB3 had at least 300 rushing yards. That year was 2009. The Cowboys made the playoffs that year, smoked the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card game, and then lost badly to the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round.
The Cowboys' ground attack that season was led by Marion Barber III (932 yards), Felix Jones (685 yards), and Tashard Choice (349 yards). It wasn’t flashy, but it was effective. In fact, that was the...
