After wanting Jaydon Blue to be that player, Dallas has finally found a good complement to Javonte.
The Dallas Cowboys tried all offseason to find a change-of-pace back to complement Javonte Williams.
Jaydon Blue was supposed to be the "Lightning" to Williams' Thunder, but he was cut, and Malik Davis got the nod.
But with Davis suffering a season-ending injury, the Cowboys were again, forced to pivot.
And that led them to Emari Demercado and then Tyler Goodson.
As the Cowboys took on the Baltimore Ravens in Rio, Demercado was surprisingly inactive, giving Goodson his chance.
And he took it.
While his stats show just 22 yards on six carries (3.7 yards per run), which don't seem like much, on film, Goodson definitely gave the Cowboys' run game burst, speed, and power when he was in the game for Williams.
"Tyler showed why we liked him, why we grabbed him," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "You saw the speed, you saw the athleticism out there. I thought he did a nice job complementing those guys. I thought our run game bounced back. That was good to see."
And the run game did show up in Rio.
Javonte was back to his 2025 form, rushing for 98 yards on 19 carries, and in truth, should have had more. The offensive line was getting push and was opening up big running lanes against the Ravens' defensive line.
As for Goodson:
The 5-9, 197-pound running back was undrafted in 2023 out of Iowa but has stuck around in the NFL in part due to his 4.4 speed.
He has 54 carries across 33 career NFL games and has also caught 19 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, all with the Colts. This summer he signed with Atlanta but was cut.
At Iowa, Goodson rushed for 2,551 yards and 18 touchdowns in three seasons.
While it was only fleeting with Goodson, I think he's shown enough that maybe he can be the change of pace out of the backfield Dallas has craved.
With Demercado similar to Williams, maybe Goodson, after his cameo in Rio, should be getting more carries moving forward.
