America’s Team is back. The Dallas Cowboys are making a charge towards the playoffs that their fans [and the rest of the league] haven’t seen in 20 years.
They’re sitting atop not only the NFC East but currently hold the best record in all of football. Yes, that’s right; the Cowboys (statistically speaking) are the best team in football. In a year when NFL viewership has at a surprising low, arguably the league’s most popular and recognizable team has finally surged to the top of the pack; and not a moment too soon.
I wrote an article a few weeks ago touting Matt Ryan as my MVP; and as the season continues to unfold, that pick doesn’t look as good as it once did. The more I’ve watched the Cowboys, the more I see the inevitable truth; the Cowboys have the two best players in the NFL [both rookies] who are the MVP frontrunners. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot have taken the NFL by storm and in a way that I don’t believe anyone forecasted. Even the most diehard Cowboys fans didn’t see this type of start for the franchise’s new dynamic duo.
The statistic’s that these two are putting up is just silly. Through 11 games Prescott’s stats are; 67.9 CMP%, 2,835 yards, 18 TD, 2 INT’s, with a 108.6 QBR; not to mention the fact that he overtook [an injured] Tony Romo as the starter, and has solidified himself as the best quarterback on the team. Elliot’s stats are; 243 ATT, 1,199 yards, 11TD’s which gives him [an absurd] 4.93 yards per rush; the Cowboys haven’t had a running-back that talented since the great Emmitt Smith. These are rookie’s mind you and they’ve continued to play like veterans; specifically showing up on the [biggest] primetime stage(s).
It’s extremely rare to have a season in which there are co-MVP’s; in fact it’s only happened twice (1997 – Brett Favre + Barry Sanders & 2003 – Peyton Manning + Steve McNair), and this year should be the third. What Prescott & Elliot have done is not only special but historic, and while it’s odd to make teammates co-MVP, there aren’t two players playing at higher level this season then these two. Furthermore, these two have not only taken the NFL by storm, but together, they’ve brought the Dallas Cowboys from irrelevance back to prominence.
Follow me on Twitter : @lavalleech
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