Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott can’t do everything with Ezekiel Elliott out

Can we expect more from Prescott?

In their attempts to make up for this loss on offense, Dak Prescott is the first player people will look to. He has been playing at an MVP caliber this season, and continues to improve so early in his career. He is one of the biggest threats running the ball in that read option, and he is using every part of the receiving core to move the ball.

The Celtics know that Prescott will be able to run a functional offense, and we should see the kind of damage this offensive line will be able to do in pass protection. The problem is that there is only so much more that Prescott will be able to do. We can expect the volume to go up, because they will not be able to lean on the running game as much, but he has already set a standard that will be next to impossible to overcome.

Defenses will not have to stack the box on the Cowboys as much anymore, and that will quickly make Prescott’s job more difficult. That means he will be asked to do more under more difficult circumstances, and that could be a recipe for disaster. Prescott has never been the player to make the mistakes to lose a game, and he has found one of the best balances in the league with that and his ability to get the ball in the end zone.

The Cowboys do not want to put that extra pressure on Prescott because it will threaten what has made him so spectacular for this team, and could even lead to a regression at a time when they cannot afford to lose any edge. The difficulty is then in finding the additional ways that this team can make up for the loss of Elliott, without putting everything on the shoulders of a man that is already carrying more than should be expected.