The 2026 Dallas Cowboys may have reached rock bottom. After an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals a week ago, Dallas looks to start its climb out of the grave against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
If the Cowboys want to avoid another loss, they’ll need to change some things up. With that thought in mind, here are two players Dallas should use more against the Colts.
1) RB Tyler Goodson
One of the more disappointing things on the offensive side of the ball for the Cowboys this season has been their inability
to sustain success in the run game. Dallas is in the bottom ten in rushing yards (753) and rushing Y/A (3.8). Since Week 4, the Cowboys have recorded more than 95 rushing yards in a single game just once.
While most of Dallas’ struggles in the run game fall on the performance of the offensive line, starting running back Javonte Williams had an uncharacteristic performance in last week’s loss. Williams looked worn down and lacked any burst and power, something he brought in a big way during his career day in Philly less than a week prior.
It’s fair to question if his early-season workload has caused a decrease in production. Williams has the ninth-most carries in the league and has averaged less than 4.0 Y/A in six of Dallas’ eight games this season. Coming into the season, keeping Williams fresh should have been a focal point for Dallas’ offense.
To this point in the year, they’ve done a bad job of keeping their top runner at his best. The Cowboys need to lean more on backup running back Tyler Goodson, who’s shown plenty of juice in limited opportunities. While Goodson did average just 2.0 Y/A last week against Arizona, he has three 10+ yard runs on the season in just 28 rushing attempts.
The Cowboys don’t need to go to a true 50/50 split, but giving Goodson five or six more carries a game will help Javonte Williams get back to form and keep him playing at a high level the rest of the regular season.
2) OT Broderick Jones
It’s time for the Cowboys to pull the plug on Terence Steele. It’s been two years now since we’ve seen Steele perform as a starting-caliber offensive tackle. Steele has allowed 17 pressures, 10 of which have come in the past three weeks, to go with 14 QB hurries.
The Cowboys have 25-year-old Broderick Jones waiting in the wings, and they need to see what he can do in an increased role. Steele’s struggles in both the pass and run game were a big reason why the Cowboys were not able to consistently move the ball against the Cardinals. While Jones is far from a sure thing, he deserves a chance to see if he can at least perform better than Steele has.
The Cowboys are very stubborn, so it likely won’t happen, but Broderick Jones should be Dallas’ starting right tackle on Sunday in Indianapolis.
