“That’s exaggerated,” Jones said. “Damn is an exaggeration, a mischaracterization. It's a poor description of how he feels about things. He is very aware of the part of the running game that he is a part of. But more importantly – and I can't stress this enough – we're saving him, and we should, because Rico (Dowdle) is a great running back, … what was his big problem? He has had problems with injuries throughout his career. It would be crazy to simply rely on him for the duration of the season and into the playoffs.

“Zeke is there, he will be there because we want to protect him from everything during this special time.”

So far this season, Elliott has 30 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, averaging just six carries and 19.6 yards per game. Meanwhile, Dowdle, who served as Elliott's backup in Dallas from 2020 to 2022, has been assigned the higher number of snaps and has amassed 54 rushes for 221 yards so far, more than double Elliott's yards per game. Although, as Jones mentioned, he has suffered injuries in the past, he has not been able to miss any games so far.

With former Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook also on the practice squad, there's certainly plenty of talent in Dallas, but only a limited number of carries to split.

While Jones said there is no “bright line” when it comes to decisions about how often each player gets the ball, he noted that the unit struggled as a group, with the Cowboys ranking 31st in rushing yards averaging just 82 per game Ranked 3rd in the league in yards per contest with a team average of 3.5 yards per carry. Whether this could lead to different tote distributions or simply indicates a need to improve overall, Jones is clear that it's not necessary for his team to play a strong running game in order to win across the board Line and in the playoffs to achieve the success it desires is 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 have to let the ball run. This is as common as having to turn on the lights when playing a night game. You have to run the ball, you got that. It has to be effective in the running game.

“If we start being effective in the running game and complementing the passing game, we'll be able to have the ball more on the offensive side of the ball and we'll be able to keep the defense off the field, which is always important.” Winning formula. “

The road ahead doesn't get any easier, however, as the Cowboys' Week 6 opponent, the Detroit Lions, were among the best at defending the run, ranking 4th in the league by allowing just 90.8 yards allowed per game.

The Cowboys and Lions kick off in Dallas on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.