What a start to the season for Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. Not only does he have his team atop the NFC East standings, but he is having one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history.
It is mathematically conceivable that Elliott could break Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record.
Let’s take a look at the numbers.
In 1983 Eric Dickerson ran for 1,808 rushing yards, which is still the single greatest mark for a freshman back. Dickerson played in all 16 regular season games giving him a 113 rushing yard per game average for the season. So far this year Elliott has a league-leading 1,005 rushing yards in nine games; that’s 111.7 rushing yards per game. Elliott is just two yards per game below the mark that Dickerson set in 1983.
If Elliott were to continue his 111.7 rushing yards per game average, he would end the season with 1,787 rushing yards, 21 yards short of the record.
By far the best thing going for Elliott is what he has in front of him. The Cowboys have the best offensive line in football, and Elliott is taking full advantage of every opportunity. In addition to running through wide open holes, he’s not shying away from contact at all.
The next two weeks won’t be easy, however.
Elliott and the Cowboys have to play the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens in back-to-back weeks. The Ravens have the No. 1 ranked run defense in the league while the Vikings rank eighth overall in that department. The Ravens are only allowing 71.3 rushing yards per game against this season, so this will be their toughest test on the ground yet.
To Elliott’s favor, he has only fumbled the ball three times this year while Dickerson had 13 fumbles during his rookie season.
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