Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott led Rico Dowdle in playing time (28 snaps to 29), pass routes (14-11), and carries (8-5) in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He turned that into just 17 rushing yards and 0 targets. Dowdle rushed for 25 yards (5.0 per carry) and caught five balls for 30 yards. He tied for third on the team in targets (6) and ranked second in receptions.
Two primary takeaways here:
Whatever the reasoning for playing Elliott more than Dowdle against Detroit, it doesn't make much sense. The veteran has done nothing this season to show he should be on the field more. And Dowdle has more than doubled his target count to date (20-9).
We knew the Detroit matchup would be one to avoid with Cowboys RBs. Now comes a Week 7 bye, but then an unfriendly road date at San Francisco.
We included Dowdle among the Sell candidates in our Week 6 Trade Targets. You probably won't be able to sell him right now, but continue looking for opportunities to do so.
We'll see whether Dallas uses the bye week to acquire backfield help.
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