Dallas Cowboys: Studs and duds from Week 1 clunker vs. Rams

Stud: Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back

All offseason we heard about the Cowboys being a team ready to hang 40 points on everyone. On Sunday, they couldn’t even drop 20. Say what you will about the defense giving up long drives but not many teams win when the offense musters up just 17 points.

Having said that, the majority of that offense came from one man — Ezekiel Elliott. No. 21 had himself a day as he finished with 96 yards rushing and 31 receiving while scoring both of the team’s touchdowns. The first of those was incredibly impressive as he juked about four Rams defenders as he took a Dak Prescott pass to the house.

Zeke looked much younger and faster in this game and while they didn’t get the win, he showed why Dallas relies so much on him.

Dud: Dak Prescott, Quarterback

The stat line for Dak Prescott wasn’t bad — 25-of-369 for 266 yards with a touchdown and a pick — but the Dallas Cowboys quarterback wasn’t inspiring in Week 1. The biggest issue was simply that he took no chances at all and when the team really needed him, he came up flat.

Prescott, who is trying to secure a huge contract, had a chance to lead his team to a win at the end and came up short. On the same day when other quarterbacks such Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, and Mitch Trubisky led their teams to comeback wins, Prescott nickeled and dimed his way to a three-point loss. He wasn’t awful, but he also didn’t deliver the way he’s capable of.