Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott is leading the league in rushing, and he’s threatening to run away with the 2016 rushing title.
After yesterday’s 97-yard game against the Ravens (who sport the league’s best rush defense), Elliott now has 1,102 rushing yards this season. He has a 102-yard lead over Titans running back DeMarco Murray, but Elliott’s lead is actually bigger than it appears, as the Titans have already played 11 games while the Cowboys have played only 10. Elliott still has six more games to play while Murray only has five, so it would be tough to see Murray surpassing Elliott at this point.
And no one else is even particularly close. Arizona’s David Johnson is third in the league in rushing with 863 yards, San Diego’s Melvin Gordon is fourth at 838 and Miami’s Jay Ajayi and New England’s LeGarrette Blount are tied for fifth at 802. They’d all have to turn it up considerably to catch Elliott in the final six weeks of the season.
Elliott also leads the league with 64 rushing first downs (no one else even has 50), and of the 25 running backs with at least 100 carries this season, Elliott is atop the league with a first down on 28.7 percent of his carries.
As long as Elliott stays healthy, there’s little doubt that he’ll end the season as the league’s top running back. And it won’t even be close.