Everyone likes to yell about whether Tony Romo or Dak Prescott should play for the Cowboys. And everyone will talk this week about Ezekiel Elliott potentially being an MVP candidate.
What needs to be acknowledged is that none of this -- the Cowboys dominating en route to an eight-game win streak and looking like the best team in the NFC -- is happening without the offensive line.
Never was it more clear than on the game-winning touchdown for Dallas, a jailbreak for Ezekiel Elliott that gave the Cowboys a 35-30 lead.
ZEKE with the go-ahead TD!!!
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2016
Only 9 seconds remain.
Wowowowowowowow. #DALvsPIThttps://t.co/69sn9wdn3H
Heck of a run by Elliott. He's a legit MVP candidate, and one of the three best running backs in the NFL right now (along with Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson), but you know what was really impressive? How the Cowboys wadded up the Steelers defense into a ball and shot it to the moon.
As Zeke is about to saunter through the hole at the line of scrimmage -- one that would accommodate a Winnebago towing a yacht towing a 1960 Cadillac -- there are only five players physically capable of making a defensive play.
Everyone else is either on the ground or being driven to the ground as Elliott prepares to hit the open field. Think about that.
It's a testament to this Cowboys offensive line and just how smart the Cowboys' front office has been at building the roster. For as good as Elliott is, and as impressive Prescott has also been as a rookie, none of this matters if Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones don't draft Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin with three first-round picks in four years.
The loaded offensive line is why it wasn't clear whether or not the Steelers allowed the Cowboys to score on the previous touchdown run by Elliott.
#FeedZeke!
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2016
The @DallasCowboys have the lead in Pittsburgh! #DALvsPIThttps://t.co/oTTdPEyW1i
The Steelers said they didn't try to let Elliott score.
Two Steelers players made clear they did not let Ezekiel Elliott score on the 23-yard TD with 1:55 left. They were trying to hold to FG.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 14, 2016
And after going back and watching the play in question, it's easy to believe them. The Steelers got snuffed out on that play by the Cowboys offensive line too.
Giving the MVP to five different individuals as one collective group would be ridiculous. But if there was ever a time to consider it, the Cowboys' offensive line is showing why.
