The last time the Dallas Cowboys won a Super Bowl, running back Emmitt Smith led the league in rushing; but the last time the Dallas Cowboys had a rushing champ, they got bounced out of the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Rams. So it’s only appropriate for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to dismiss the notion having a rushing champ on his team, right? It has nothing to do with the fact that him and his star running back Ezekiel Elliot are in a contract dispute. According to CBS 11 Sports, Jones was doing an interview with the station and had a hot take about rushing champions.
“The point there is, you don’t have to have a rushing champion to win a Super Bowl…Emmitt was the first to do it,” explained Jones. The owner was responding to comparisons of the hall-of-famer Smith to the young superstar Elliot. His mention of Smith was referring to when he led the league in rushing in 1993, the same year Dallas won their 2nd straight title. That was then and this is now: a reality in which Jones feels the running back position can be plug-and-play and still get you a title shot.
“That’s one of the dilemmas at running back is that the league knows you can win Super Bowls and not have the Emmitt Smith back there or not have Zeke back there. You’ve gotta do all of the things along with having Zeke that allow you to have other players so that you can win the Super Bowl. That’ what we’re going through.” There are 2 sides to what Jones said in that statement.
He is right about not needing a leading rusher or a superior running back to win a Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams had the best running back in their Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, but they still lost that horrible game. The same can be said for the Seattle Seahawks when they played against the Patriots, but that could be a whole other convo. The last running back to lead the league in rushing and win a Super Bowl was Terell Davis for the Denver Broncos, when he led the league in 1998. But the game was much different than what it is now. Running plays have become more creative with involving other players that are not running backs, such as mobile quarterbacks and wide receivers. Personnel and formations have become more complex by interchanging running backs.
However, even though Jones doesn’t feel the need to put a leading rusher in his backfield, he still needs Zeke back there. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott does have a winning record in each of his 3 seasons; but the only winning seasons that he has a playoff appearance in are the ones with Elliot playing the full season and, ironically, leading the league in rushing. It can be argued that Zeke is pushing his luck doing a contract holdout with only 2 years left on his deal; but as someone who has made themselves one of the more elite players at their position, in a league where running backs have a short shelf life, seems like a good move on his part to cash in now, rather than wait for any crumbs after the team tries to pay Prescott and, potentially, wide receiver Amari Cooper. The Cowboys can take into consideration Elliot’s off-the-field issues, but players that have done more egregious acts, with equal or lesser talent, have been signed to other squads. Jones knows bow special Zeke is and will likely do all that he can to keep him.