Dallas Cowboys: Joseph Randle has career game in Week 3

ByStephen Forsha|

The Dallas Cowboys finally saw the production they needed from their rushing game on Sunday, but a win wasn’t in the works for the Cowboys with them ultimately losing, 39-28.

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The running backs could have rushed for even more yards and scored more touchdowns than they did, but the Cowboys couldn’t stop Julio Jones of the Falcons, and if a team can’t stop him … well, a loss will occur for his opponent.

But this is about the Cowboys’ rushing attack, mostly Joseph Randle, where he had the best game of his short career, as this is his first season as the main starter for the Cowboys since being drafted three seasons ago.

Against the Falcons, Randle’s career game saw him finish with 87 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. One of those touchdown runs, the first of the game, went for 37 yards. In the first half, on 10 carries, Randle had 92 yards. So yes, even on his career day, he was held to -5 yards in the second half.

For Week 3 (excluding Monday night) Randle had the ninth best rushing game.

Todd Archer of ESPN.com wrote Sunday:

"“The running game is back. At least it was for a half. In the third quarter, the Cowboys had four carries and lost 5 yards.”"

Randle’s first touchdown run was a thing of beauty, with the Cowboys’ starter beginning to go off tackle, but after breaking two tackle attempts, he raced down the sideline to the right corner of the end zone.

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That’s the type of play many have been waiting for from Randle all season.

His second half wasn’t nearly as good as the first, as he and the rest of the Cowboys were held scoreless in the final two quarters.

But Randle’s first half also saw a touchdown run where he showed his short-yardage abilities as well, with a 1-yard score, running through the lane the Cowboys offensive line made for him.

Randle’s third and final score came with 46 seconds left in the first half, with the score also being a 1-yard run. Darren McFadden also scored a rushing touchdown for the Cowboys in the second quarter, as his was a 2-yard run with 7:31 left in the quarter.

McFadden totaled 35 yards for the game on six rushes. His best carry was 10 yards. There was also the play of Lance Dunbar, not with his rushing game, but with his ability to catch the ball in the backfield. Dunbar led all Cowboys with 10 receptions for 100 yards, with his best reception being 22 yards.

Even with a not-so-great second half by Randle and his Cowboys teammates (they were outscored 22-0), it is tough to be down on the performance of Randle, as that first half of play is what fans have been craving all season.

Kurt Daniels of DallasCowboys.com wrote this about the Cowboys’ rushing game in the second half and the Cowboys’ offense:

"“But that script completely flipped in the second half, as Atlanta shut down the Cowboys’ running game … Through his first three carries, he totaled 85 rushing yards, already a career high. But over the rest of the day, he earned just 2 more yards on 11 attempts, failing to even crack the century mark.”"

In all, the Cowboys’ rushing game totaled 127 yards (they had 131 in the first half), with 10 of their runs giving the Cowboys first downs. Playing against a team that was allowing an average of just 85 yards of rushing per game this season, the play of the Cowboys running backs can’t be overlooked in Week 3.

If the Cowboys can combine two halves of football with their rushing game and get some defensive help, Randle and his running back teammates are in line for more overall solid days. Hopefully for their sake, those yards and touchdowns turn into wins while Tony Romo and Dez Bryant are on the mend.

Avoiding any more collapses like the one we all saw Sunday in the second half has to happen for that to occur. Next week will be very exciting to see what happens when the Cowboys face the New Orleans Saints.

Next: After Further Thought: Week 3 Late Games

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