When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys offense in 2019, Ezekiel Elliott isn't worried a bit. That sentiment also branches over to questions of his diminished number of touches this season over seasons past, as things look much different nowadays under first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
It's an offense that's now more dedicated to taking what the opposing defense gives them versus simply handing the ball off to Elliott on nearly every occasion and demanding he carry the team, even when it's ill-advised to do so thanks to stacked boxes. While quarterback Dak Prescott is mostly flourishing in the new system, the two-time and reigning league rushing champ has seen a bit of a downturn in his output. Elliott is averaging only 17 handoffs per game in 2019 -- the lowest of his four-year career -- and while his yards per carry are still right on par for his elite status (4.5), he's simply not being asked to do what he once was.
That, however, isn't bothering him going into Week 6 against the New York Jets.
"I think it's just kind of how the season has unfolded," Elliott said following Wednesday's practice. "I'm not concerned at all. We're still the same offense. At the start of the season they were kind of easing me in, and then we got ahead in a couple games and we didn't play that much.
"I'm not really concerned about the touches. I'm just concerned about us figuring out how to get things right on offense."
The Cowboys are looking to bounce back from their first two-game losing streak of the season this Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and only one of those losses included the offense having been shut down. That occurred in the 12-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, but Moore and the Cowboys had the perfect gameplan dialed up against the Packers from the minute the coin flipped. The problem was poor execution on the field that created takeaways instead of touchdowns, and field goals as well -- when additionally assessing the performance of kicker Brett Maher.
They'd clean up their act for the most part in the second half and nearly mount a franchise record-setting comeback win, but the hole dug by the errors in the first 2.5 quarters was far too deep to claw their way out of. Having defeated the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins in their first three games to only then fail bigger tests from the Saints and Packers, it stands to reason many would begin wondering if the Cowboys are actual contenders or not.
Elliott believes they are, and that it's not a massive overhaul or some irreparable thing that needs to be addressed from the offense's standpoint. For him, it's not about burning down the house and rebuilding. It's about making the bed and vacuuming the carpet.
"Just focus," Elliott said. "There's no panic. We're just coming to work every day and try to become a better football team -- try to fix everything. Just a lot of basic, small things. The biggest thing is we're moving the ball.
"We're just shooting ourselves in the foot doing a lot of dumb penalties, things we can't have, killing our momentum. If we eliminate those things, we're a well-oiled machine."
To that point, the Cowboys are No. 1 in the NFL in total offense with 452.8 yards per game weekly -- ahead of even the dynamic Kansas City Chiefs led by reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes -- and their 26.2 points per game (t-9th) would look precipitously better if not for mental errors that robbed them of touchdowns against the Packers; most notably, the drop by Amari Cooper that turned an easy TD into an easy interception on the first drive against Green Bay.
It was errors that torpedoed a career-best 226-yard day for Cooper and a career-high 463-yard outing by Dak Prescott, on a day when the return of Michael Gallup added another 113 yards to the stat sheet. Elliott was held to only 62 yards in the loss, but also took just 12 handoffs (5.16 yards per attempt) as the game got away from the Cowboys early -- forcing them to abandon the run and play catch up.
It was mistake-free football for the Cowboys offense during their three-game winning streak, but things couldn't have been more opposite when Green Bay walked into AT&T Stadium. They'll now head east with the hopes of using the Jets as a blade sharpener.
"We just have to get our edge back," Elliott said. "We've got to go out there and play like us. We've got to go out there and play fast, we've got to run, and we've got to play physical football. We've got to hit those guys and just get back to our identity."
Those wondering "what's going on" with Elliott have their answer, and he's not shown any signs of slowing down once the ball is put in his hands. He is still on pace to produce 1,235 yards rushing and 1,530 yards from scrimmage on the season, his downturn being commensurate with change in scheme and seemingly nothing else. It's arguable, but the Cowboys could be 4-1 right now with their current formula, which explains why Elliott isn't sweating his individual numbers. As the temps begin to drop and the football environments become more unforgiving toward the passing attack, it's also fairly inevitable he'll see an uptick in his touches at some point.
Until then, forcing the football to him simply isn't required as it once was. What is required, however, is better execution by elite players in a system that's currently top dog in the NFL.
Simply put, the offense has to get back to biting at the end of their well-schemed bark, and pronto.