Through four weeks, it's obvious that the Dallas Cowboys could use a little more juice from their running backs, but the organization still doesn't see it that way.
The Cowboys began the season with a running back trio of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn, but the team has gradually demoted Elliott and Vaughn each week and given fullback Hunter Luepke more work.
In Dallas' Week 4 win over the Giants, Luepke led the quartet in snaps with 29, while Dowdle was right behind him with 24 snaps. Elliott went from 28 snaps in Week 2, to 15 in Week 3, to only 10 in Week 4. Vaughn only had four snaps against New York.
Dowdle, who started for the third consecutive week, led the way with 46 yards on 11 carries at an average of 4.2 yards per touch, while Elliott (5 for 19 yards) and Luepke (2 for 8 yards) averaged 3.8 and 4.0 yards per rush.
For the season, Dallas is averaging 3.5 yards per carry, tied with Chicago Bears for the second-worst average in the NFL.
The Cowboys have veteran running back Dalvin Cook waiting in the wings on the practice squad, but it appears they still aren't prepared to pull the trigger on activating the four-time Pro Bowler.
When asked Tuesday by Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan about Cook's chances of being called up to the active roster for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said a change at running back isn't in the cards.
"Probably not this week," Jones said when asked if Cook will play Sunday.
And what's holding Cook back from being called up?
"Not a thing. When you look at a roster, you look at the entire roster. And you have to adjust it for injuries and just availability. And you have to adjust it for how you're going to use him. The other day, we didn't run the ball much, at all. And, so, you have to evaluate how you're going to look at any position, whether it's (running back) or receiver. All of that comes into play. We very easily could be light at running back going into this game in terms of numbers."
If you read between the lines, it seems possible that Dallas could make Elliott or Vaughn inactive on Sunday to give themselves more bodies on the defensive line, as they look to fill the void left by DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons, who suffered injuries in Week 4 and will not play Sunday.
Jones said Tuesday that Dallas will look internally for help on the defensive line, confirming what his son, Stephen Jones, said Monday on the K&C Masterpiece when he pointed to Tyrus Wheat, Carl Lawson, and Marshawn Kneeland as players who needed to step up in their absences.
“We’re fortunate to have these young guys to step up here," Jerry Jones said Tuesday.
Dallas could also bring in a player or two from outside of the organization via another team's practice squad, Jones said.