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FRISCO, TX — Ahead of the 2026 season, the Dallas Cowboys promised balance for their high-flying offense. Six games into the season, the group is anything but, and it's actually getting worse despite weekly assurances that the team will renew its vow to Javonte Williams in the respective upcoming contest.
Of all the items to point to, in all three phases, that helped fuel a 2-4 start to the season, willingly abandoning the run has to be near the top of the list of things to course-correct, effective immediately, if the Cowboys want a shot at turning things around.
I get it — two shiny All-Pro weapons at receiver, a promising and talented third receiver, and an All-Pro quarterback make it easy to want to throw the ball around the field for four quarters, but that's not how NFL games are won on a consistent basis.
"Running the ball is one of my favorite things. You wouldn't think it, but what it does is allow the run action, the play action to open up. There's no better time to play this game when you know the defense is trying to stop the run and you've got guys like George and CeeDee running down the field one-on-one. It's a huge impact." - Dak Prescott
On occasion, that can be the recipe, but not every single game and, to now, the offense in Dallas is as one-dimensional as a piece of wide-ruled notebook paper.
Here's a quick comparison of where Williams ended last season versus what it is through the first six games of this season:
2025:
- ≈ 71 ru/yards per game
- 26 explosive runs (≈ 2 per game avg)
- 44.4% success rate
- 61% called pass rate
2026:
- ≈ 53 ru/yards per game
- 6 explosive runs (1 per game avg)
- 48.2% success rate
- 71% called pass rate
And what about first down decisions, run vs. pass?
2025:
- 48.9% called pass
2026:
- 61.3% called pass
... and on second down?
2025:
- 63% called pass
2026:
- 72.4% called pass
... and on third down (with three or fewer yards to convert)?
2025:
- 53.7% called pass
2026:
- 55.6% called pass
As we say in back home: "I ain't gon' hold you."
In other words, I'm not going to drag this column out longer than it needs to, because the analytics and film tell the whole story and it doesn't require any more context than the numbers I just proved above.
The numbers show an increase in the decision to call a pass play regardless of the down and distance, with the understanding that you should actually call one on 3rd-and-long; but what's most concerning here is the size of the increase in called pass plays on first and second down, and on 3rd-and-short.
What I'll grant the Cowboys is the unexpected loss of Malik Davis to help increase the number of explosive runs per attempt but, given how lopsided the pass vs. run calls have been, it wouldn't matter if the backfield had Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders with Adrian Peterson as RB3 — if you're only using them for pass protection 54 times in a game.
At one point against the Packers, following Williams lone rushing touchdown, the Cowboys' next 38 play calls involved 37 passes.
Read that again, slowly, and with your headache medicine of choice nearby.
"For a play-caller's purpose, you want to run the ball. You want to be balanced. We have the ability to run very, very well." - Brian Schottenheimer
And having All-Pro guard Tyler Smith return the last two games has oddly come attached to fewer rushing attempts, not more, another head-scratcher that might break the skin.
And, for Williams, the assigned bell cow of the running backs room, he is currently on pace to rush for roughly 900 yards and 20 touchdowns (!!), without once hitting the 20-carry mark at any point yet this season and with the Cowboys, oftentimes, choosing to throw the ball on short yardage and goal line situations.
Williams is doing the most with his opportunities, but his opportunities are being greatly reduced as the weeks roll along.
"We've got a dominant running back. [Javonte] is a great running back, and I think we need to feed him more." - Ryan Flournoy
Williams carried the ball just eleven times in Green Bay, the lowest of the season, despite the game being within striking distance for most of the contest, and his lone 100-yard outing ties the Tennessee Titans (1-5) as the only other group with only one 100-yard game this season.
Yeah, they're in the same company as the … Titans.
Turning the volume down on the handoffs following the return of Tyler Smith is definitely perplexing, and yet another decision that adds to the cacophony of issues plaguing the Cowboys at the moment. They still have 11 games in the regular season to change their fate, though, and doing so would allow them to finally climb out of the NFC East's septic tank onto the green pastures above.
Being blinded by the 34 point per game average from Week 2 through Week 4 likely helped justify this uncharacteristically Kellen Moore-esque shift in philosophy, but what should have anchored that was the fact Dallas went 1-2 during that stretch, and allowed an average of 28 points per game.
"We've really only, for the most part, been able to hit [opponents] with the one hand, and we need to be more balanced. We need to be able to hit you with both hands, and we've been playing with one arm behind our back." - Klayton Adams
Abandoning the run for a sequence of downs because of a run stuff or two is understandable, but tossing it into the trash bin for the remainder of the game because it's not working early on — though numbers show the Cowboys aren't consistently trying it early on anyway — can't be forgiven.
Not in this league.
Choosing to pass two-thirds of the time on first down isn't bully ball. It's not daring the other team to try and outphysical you. It isn't tiring out the defensive front by forcing them to tackle a thumper.
It's letting them off the hook, and letting pass rushers get momentum early.
Run the ball because you have a very capable running back. Run the ball because he has a very capable offensive line in front of him. Run the ball because opposing defenses are more concerned with the two All-Pro receivers.
Run the ball to keep defenses guessing. Run the ball to wear down pass rushers. Run the ball to force smaller defensive backs to tackle a bigger and more powerful human time and again, and then throw it over their head.
Run the ball to manage time of possession to help the still-growing defense rest and reset for their next drive. Run the ball because it's harder for receivers to catch passes when the temps drop in December and beyond.
Run the ball because, as the Greatest Show on Turf showed, it doesn't matter how much firepower you have at receiver and quarterback if you can't or, worse, if you choose not to hand the ball off.
Say it with me, everybody: Dear Cowboys, run the ball.
